Studybuddies
by scribeninja
Summary: In college, Eric is a nerdy virgin and meets Sookie in the library. He's shy and adorkable, and likes Sookie, who is looking for some happiness herself. AH-OOC.
1. Sunkist Day

**Yes, that's right. I'm starting another story. Don't kill me. I think you might like it. This one started during the word-generator game on the forum at about the same time WDMC started. I got the word 'library' and this came to me. I had just written the beginning of it and set it aside when I ran with WDMC. I hit a bit of a block on that story, so I picked this up again, and a hell of a lot more came to me. The title comes from the nickname we give our different incarnations of Eric on the forum. The Eric in this story was called Studbuddy or StudyBuddy, hence the title Studybuddies. *snort* I know I'm not that clever, no need to tell me LOL. **

**Without further ado, I give you Nerdvirgin Eric....**

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Chapter 1

I was having a particularly bad day, and trying to forget about it by waiting on my beautiful stranger to come into the library and make me forget about it. The stranger is over six feet tall, with toned muscles, shoulder-length blond hair, and beautiful blue eyes. I have seen him in the college library everyday, sitting in the same spot, at the same table, with the same bag of chips hidden in his backpack. I just started coming to the library regularly, and I sure was glad I had.

He never talks to anyone. He just comes in, walks over to his spot of the end chair at the fourth table, puts his bag down on the chair next to him so that no one can sit there, pulls out his books, opens his bag of chips as quietly as possible, and works. There's nothing particularly unusual about that, but you could set your watch by him. He also does all this the same way, in the same meticulous order, which some people might find OCD, but with him it just seemed like a simple routine. It was just the way he did things, and I watched him do it everyday. Not in a creepy way, I swear. There's just something about him that's so watch-able to me.

He dresses like a nerd, always wearing a combo of jeans and a sweater or sweater-vest. He also wears a pair of Elvis Costello glasses, which I just find awesome. Despite all the nerd gear, he doesn't really strike me as nerdy. For instance, I can't really see him playing dungeons and dragons, or dressing up for an X-men convention, but then it's all about how one perceives a nerd. Another thing that strikes me as decidedly "not nerdy" is the fact that the boy is toned. A girl walked by him once and spilled her water on him in a lame attempt to get him to talk to her, and he took his sweater off. Underneath he was wearing a thin, almost see-through tight white shirt. I remember my jaw dropping as I took in his physique. No, he was most definitely not your average nerd.

As I continued to wait, I let my mind wander to the night before. Everything was moving along like normal, except that just before he got up to leave, he looked right at me and smiled. We had never actually made eye contact before, and I was shocked by the beautiful blue of his eyes. I almost melted. Then, as he walked by on his way out, he shot me another shy smile. It was the first time I ever saw him purposefully interact with anyone else, and I was thanking my lucky starts that it was me.

I looked at my watch, and tapped it in exasperation. According to it he should have walked through the door two minutes ago. He was never late. I found myself disappointed, and that surprised me because I had no right to be. I don't own him. I'd just become so used to him being there. Maybe it was just meant to be a horrible day. I woke up late, almost fell on my face rushing to my first class, left an assignment in my apartment, and then I didn't have time to go back by the apartment to get my library drink. I wasn't even able to get one from the vending machine because it was crowded with a bunch of guys, and I just didn't want to deal with that too. To top it off, my library eye-candy wasn't here. I decided to just give up, go back to my apartment, eat some chocolate, and call it a day. Just as I was getting up to leave, he came bursting through the door looking completely flustered. It seemed I wasn't the only one having a shitty day and I felt for him, even though his presence made me feel better.

He looked right at me, and then walked over to his seat like he normally does, but this time he broke his routine. When he got to his chair, instead of setting his bag down in the chair next to him, he put it on the floor, and then he pulled out the middle chair before sitting down in his. I watched him bend over and dig in his bag, and when he came back up to the table I almost gasped at what he had in his hand. It was a bottle of Sunkist orange soda, my library drink. How the hell did he know I couldn't get one today? He set it on the table in front of the seat next to him, and then he looked at me and smiled. He was inviting me to sit with him.

I'd have to be crazy not to accept, right? I offered him a smile, gathered my things, made my way over to his table, and sat down next to him. He smelled wonderful, like clean linen and soap. It was a nice change from the guys who drowned themselves in that Axe shit.

I took the soda and said, "Thank you. I'm Sookie."

He offered me a shy smile and a nod, and then proceeded to get out his books and started working. I did the same. It was surprisingly comfortable working next to him. It was like we were in a bubble all to ourselves, and no one could bother us.

Time flew by, and the next thing I knew he was packing up his stuff. I looked at my watch and realized that it was the time he always leaves. He stood up, and pushed his chair in as I watched.

He looked down at me and said somewhat shyly, "I'm Eric. See you again tomorrow?"

I was speechless from the sound of his voice, so I nodded and smiled. He smiled brightly in return, and then left. I don't think I've ever looked forward to studying more.

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**I know it was short, but the first few chapters will be. They get longer as more happens, I swear. **

**Big, big thanks to FDM, my beta! I had to light a virtual ciggy because of her latest chapter of House of Flesh on Fire today. Dayum, that fic is the hottest thing I've ever read. **

**I also want to thank all the girls on the Sookieverse Forum. You ladies were so enthusiastic over this story and really encouraged me to go on with it. I love you all! **

**So, who loves nerds? *wink***


	2. Soda Flavored Bookcase Kisses

**I want to thank everyone for the awesome enthusiasm! I'm so exctied about this story and am having so much fun writing it. So here you are, your first Nerdvirgin POV!**

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Chapter 2

Sookie has been sitting with me at the library for a good month now. She was without doubt, the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I noticed her the first day I saw her, about 7 weeks ago, just after the start of the fall semester. I knew I'd never seen her before because, really, how could you forget her? She was about medium height with long, wavy blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, luscious curves, and a perfect pair of breasts. Not that I stared or anything.

She was always there when I came in, everyday at four on the dot. She was always sitting at the same table, and always drinking a Sunkist orange soda that she kept hidden in her bag. She was still here everyday when I left, and I hated to go because she mesmerized me and I wanted to keep watching her. Not in a creepy way or anything. It's just that she wasn't like the other girls who came in here, constantly texting on their cell phones, more worried about the next party than their schoolwork. This girl actually worked while in the library and seemed so sweet and innocent, even though she was a knockout. I had a feeling she wasn't aware of it, but it didn't matter. I knew a guy like me wouldn't have a chance with a girl like that.

Just before I got up to leave one night, I looked up at her and found that she was looking right at me. My body was instantly telling me what it wanted, but all I could do was offer her a smile. I was floored when she smiled back, so when I walked past her I smiled at her again, pleased that she was still looking. I had hope that maybe she liked me as much as I did her, but ultimately I figured that she was just being polite.

The next day I saw her on campus rushing through the quad, and I watched her. She looked so upset and flustered, and I didn't like seeing her like that. I saw her try to stop at the soda machine, but it was crowded by a bunch of rowdy students so she quickly gave up. I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost four o'clock, and assumed that she would normally be in the library by now. I wanted to see her smile again, so I quickly thought of a way to make it happen. Since I was big enough to push the idiots aside, I made my way across the quad and got her soda from the machine. I hoped that she was still going to the library.

I was about five minutes late when I rushed through the door of the library, and was quite relieved that she was there. I went to my table and instead of putting my bag down on the chair next to me, I set it on the floor. I sat in my chair and pulled her soda from my bag, and then I set it on the table in front of the seat next to me. I looked right at her, pleased to see that she was staring, and smiled. She looked stunned for a second, then much to my satisfaction, gathered her things and came to sit beside me.

She took the soda and said, "Thanks. I'm Sookie." Hearing her speak for the first time rendered me speechless, so I smiled and nodded. As I got my books out, her voice kept ringing in my head. I never heard a name, or a voice, quite like hers. I kept repeating her name over and over in my head, enjoying the sound of it the more I thought it. We worked next to each other comfortably until it was time for me to go. I gathered my things, and before I left I told her my name, and asked if I would see her the next day. She didn't speak again; she just nodded and smiled. That was good enough for me, so I smiled in return, and left.

Ever since that day, I've found myself a bit too excited to go to the library. The day after what I now call the "Sunkist Day", when I got to the library she was sitting in the chair I had offered her. Lying on the table in front of my chair was a bag of chips. It was the exact the exact brand and flavor I ate. I couldn't believe she had noticed that. Not only had she noticed, but unless she had these lying around she would have had to go to the only store in town that sold them. Just the idea that she might have gone out of her way for me made me happy. I sat down and picked up the chips, while giving her a questioning look. She just said, "Returning the favor," and went back to work. I think I had a big smile on my face the rest of that day.

It went on like that for the next month. She was always there when I showed up, sitting in the chair next to mine. We had small talk sometimes about our classes and teachers, but for the most part worked in a comfortable silence. I learned that she was an Art History major, with a minor in Historical Preservation. She was really passionate about art, and seemed really creative. I also found out that she loved films and the theater, which I loved as well. Every night before I left, she would offer me a smile and I knew she'd be there again.

I have to admit that Sookie starred in all my fantasies now. They were often of the two of us, in the library. I even had dreams about it. I found it hard to concentrate sometimes, because her scent would get to me and all I could think about was leaning over and taking a whiff of her hair, and that would just come off as creepy. One day, everything changed. Sookie got up to go find a book she needed, and as she did, her body brushed my arm and her scent surrounded me with the moving air. We had never actually made physical contact, and to me it felt like and electric jolt had run through me. I watched her round the corner, and before I knew what I was doing, I was on my feet, following her. I found her at the end of a deserted aisle, flipping through a book. I don't know what came over me, but I made my way towards her, my intent clear in my head, just hoping she would respond.

As soon as I got within arms reach of her, she seemed to sense my presence and looked up from her book, surprised.

"Eric? What are you…" she started, but didn't get a chance to finish asking her question, as my mouth came crashing down onto hers. She immediately responded, and I heard the book she was holding hit the floor. She tasted like citrus, like her orange soda, and she was absolutely delicious. Her hands made their way into my hair as I wrapped my arms around her, crushing her body to mine. I lifted her up, and she instantly wrapped her legs around my waist as I backed her up against the bookcase. As our kiss deepened, she removed her hands from my hair and instead, put them under my sweater. I enjoyed the feel of her warm hands on my stomach, causing my muscles to clench. Then she moved them around to my back, and pulled me closer to her, which made me groan.

I decided that my hands should do some of their own roaming, and sneaked on under her shirt. She moaned into my mouth as my fingers found her nipple through her bra. I began planting kisses along her jaw and down her neck, nibbling at the skin just under her ear. She moaned again, and I knew I had found a good spot to pay attention to. I was, at that moment, no longer a shy nerd. It was like I transformed into some sort of confident stud, a man who went for exactly what he wanted. I was just about to put my hand under her bra, when I was rudely interrupted by someone loudly clearing their throat. Sookie seemed to tense up, and then she lightly tapped my shoulder.

"Eric…" she whispered.

I turned and looked to find that a librarian was standing at the end of the aisle, staring us down over her precariously perched half-glasses. I took stock of the situation and realized that my hand was still under Sookie's shirt. It hit me that I might have ruined the comfortable working routine I had going with Sookie. She did respond though, so she must like me. That freaking librarian cleared her throat again. I all but dropped Sookie as I backed away. I had been a suave, confident version of myself, and then that woman cleared her throat, and I was back to being the shy nerd. Damn it.

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******Thank you to my extraordinary beta FDM! Love ya! **

**Whatcha think? Eric's a natural isn't he? *le sigh* I want me an Eric nerd.**


	3. Kettle Chips and Girl Talk

**So, Eric's a stud under those glasses, isn't he? There's a Viking in there, I'm telling you...**

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Chapter 3

The day after Eric invited me to sit with him by buying me my soda, I bought him a bag of those Kettle chips I'd noticed he'd always munch on to repay him. I made sure to stop by the store in the morning and got the flavor he liked; salt and ground pepper. Everyday after that, we sat together.

Sometimes we would talk for a few minutes, and I learned that Eric was an English major. He got excited talking about it, but seemed a bit discouraged. He said that his professors told him that his writing was too technical, so he was working on it. We shared the same passion for films and the theater, and that made me really happy. I loved having something like that in common with him.

I often found myself having dreams about Eric, as well as having him star in all my fantasies. I couldn't get him out of my head, and it was killing me that he hadn't made a move yet. I talked to my roommate Amelia about him, and she suggested that he might be gay, which I absolutely denied at the time, but was now beginning to think was a definite possibility. I don't mean to be narcissistic or anything, but I do look halfway decent. I get hit on a lot, but I just chalk that up to it being college. College guys will hit on anything with legs, and the right equipment between them. Eric didn't though. I noticed that he never looked twice at the women around him, even when they spilled water on him. He had also been nothing but respectful towards me. He even looked in my eyes when I talked, rather than my chest, like most guys did. That was a definite first, and when I told Amelia, she just said, "Totally gay! Have you seen your rack? _I_ stare at them while I'm talking to you!" So I tried to stop thinking about him so much. If he was gay, then there wasn't really a point in fantasizing about what I could never have.

So, you can imagine my surprise when he kissed me. I had gotten up to retrieve a book I needed and was standing at the end of the aisle looking through it, when I noticed someone coming towards me fast. It was Eric, and when he reached me he laid the mother of all kisses on me. I had never been kissed like that. It was so hot, and full of passion and lust. He even picked me up and pushed me against the bookshelf, causing me to wrap my legs around his waist, which helped me feel a rather wonderful part of him growing firmer my the second. Definitely not gay. Then his hand went under my shirt and his fingers teased my nipple, as he nibbled on my neck just under my ear. _Definitely _not gay.

Then that freaking librarian had to come along and ruin everything. I saw her right after she did it, but Eric hadn't seemed to notice yet, so I tapped his shoulder. She cleared her throat again, and he finally saw her. He looked us over and what just happened seemed to hit him full force. Just like that, Eric went from being a confident, debonair version of himself, to being a shy nerd again. I didn't think he could get away from me fast enough. He practically ran down the aisle, leaving me standing there disheveled, and under the judgmental eyes of the librarian. I calmly set my clothes to rights, picked up the book I had dropped, and walked back to the table. Eric wasn't there. His stuff was gone, and his chair was halfway out. I felt like I had ruined everything, and then I remembered that I wasn't the one initiating anything. He kissed me. He came charging down that aisle and kissed me against a bookshelf.

I quickly gathered my things. I knew I would need to talk this over with Amelia. We lived just off campus in our own apartment. She and I had been best friends in high school, and she came from a rich family. Her father paid for the apartment, and the DSL Internet and satellite TV. All we had to do was pay utilities. It was definitely a good thing to be friends with Amelia. On top of all the financial perks, she was a truly good person, fiercely loyal to her friends, and insanely honest.

I could breathe easier as soon as I stepped out into the slightly cool air. It was almost December now and the weather was getting chillier, but it wasn't cold enough for a coat yet. I was in a daze the entire walk back to the apartment. My mind kept wandering back to that kiss, and the way his lips felt on mine. I thought of the way his mouth and hands left a burning trail on my skin. I thought about his hard length pressed into my thigh. I was getting wet just thinking about it. I would definitely need to relieve myself tonight, and luckily I had some fresh material for a nice fantasy.

When I stepped into the apartment, I heard giggling coming from Amelia's room. She probably still had her boyfriend Tray over. I knew she did. It was the main reason I had begun to go to the library for so long everyday. I couldn't take hearing the noises of their humping all the time. Especially not today. She got him all the time, and right now I needed girl talk. I took a deep breath, covered my eyes with my hand, and threw her door open.

"Sookie!" I heard her squeal.

"I'm not looking! Tray, would you mind leaving? I really need to talk to Amelia."

"We're kinda busy Sookie," came Tray's deep, breathless voice.

"Amelia. Now." I said seriously.

"Fine, I'll be there in a minute," she sighed.

I reached around for the doorknob and pulled the door closed again, and then I turned around and went out to the living room to wait. About five minutes later, a very satisfied looking Tray walked out of the apartment. Amelia came out a couple minutes after that in her robe, with quite a smile on her face.

"What's up?" she asked as she plopped down on the couch beside me.

"Did you just blow him?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, I couldn't leave him in that…condition," she smirked, "Don't change the subject. What's going on?"

"Eric kissed me," I blurted out.

"WHAT?!" she screeched.

"Amelia! My ears. Could you be any louder?" I said as I leaned away from her.

"I thought he was gay!" she said at a decidedly lesser decibel.

"Apparently not."

"Well, what happened?" She was practically bouncing with excitement.

"It was just going like it normally does, but when I got up to go get a book he followed me, and gave me the best kiss I've ever had." I gave her all the particulars, and she agreed that he was most definitely not gay.

"So what do I do now? He left right after. I don't even know if he'll show up tomorrow." I said rather disappointedly.

"Sookie, from what you've told me, this guy is all about routine. He's going to show up. He'll be there. So you just go and sit in the seat next to him, and act like everything's normal. You'll figure the rest out."

"What does that mean? 'You'll figure the rest out'?"

"It means," she started with a smirk, which usually meant something bad, "that this time, when he gets up to find a book, you follow him and do some asserting of your own."

My jaw dropped. "Amelia, I can't do that. I'm not you."

"Well, fine. Don't kiss the hottie again. I'll just have to keep listening to you moan his name to yourself at night, instead of to him."

I blushed furiously, and ignored her last statement, "I just don't know if I could be that forward. He's always so shy, with the exception of those couple of minutes."

"Oh, you can do it. You're capable of a lot more than you think, and it's time. You need to get yourself a good man, and stop letting that asshole control your actions." I shot her a warning glare. "I know you're not that comfortable moving fast, especially now, so how about tomorrow you just feel the situation out and report back to me. Then we'll go from there."

That sounded much better. I could do that. I just hoped he would show.

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**Will he show? Well, that's a stupid question. You guys know me, of course he will show. Whoops, I hope that didn't spoil you too bad, but come on. He's sooo gonna show. **

**Big pouncyhuggles to FDM! I'm so luky I have the woman who writes the hottest fic ever betaing my little Nerdvirgin story. *le sigh* She's amazing. **

**So! Let me know what you're thinking! Love it? **

**P.S. I'm making headway on chapter 19 of WDMC, for those of you that read it. **


	4. Vikings in Flannel

***giggles***

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Chapter 4

I panicked. I couldn't help it. I didn't know what to do. One second I was enjoying the best kiss of my life, with the most beautiful girl I'd ever met, and the next I was running from her. When I got back to the table, I quickly gathered my things, and left without looking back.

On the walk back to my apartment, I felt disoriented. I was already thrown off because I was at least fifteen minutes earlier than I normally would have been, and then I thought about that kiss. I remembered vividly how her body felt against mine, and how her warm hands felt on my skin. I could feel myself getting hard again just thinking about it, and since I didn't want to put myself through that particular embarrassment, I thought about the old librarian naked. Instant fix.

When I finally got in my apartment, I immediately went to the shower and turned on the cold water. I stripped off my clothes, laid my glasses on the sink, and got in. As soon as the water hit me I felt a bit better, and then I was met with images of Sookie in the shower with me. I was instantly hard again. I couldn't will it away, so I gave in, and turned on the hot water. Closing my eyes, I thought about the kiss and the way it felt when she wrapped her legs around my waist. I began to stroke myself, and within a few short minutes brought myself to a powerful release. I quickly finished my shower, gathered my dirty clothes, and walked naked down the hall to my bedroom. Because I lived alone, I never bothered with a robe. It was quite a perk.

When I came to college, I knew I wouldn't be able to handle living in the dorms. I didn't like loudness, or partying, and I knew whoever I ended up rooming with would be annoyed by the way I did things. I'm all about routine. It's not an OCD thing. I could easily change my routine at any time, and it's not really a compulsion; more like a habit.

I had a rather large inheritance from my Aunt. I was able to live off the money, because I didn't need it for school. I had been home schooled until my senior year of high school, and graduated Valedictorian with a full scholarship to college. I used the money from the inheritance on an off-campus apartment so that I wouldn't have to live in the dorms. It had made college life quite bearable for me. I was within walking distance of the campus, but there weren't many parties around me, so I practically had it made.

The only thing I didn't care for, was how quiet it was living alone, so I took to the library. It was quiet there too, but with the other people around, I didn't feel so alone. Sookie was the first person I had really interacted with since coming here. I mean, I talked to the professors and had the occasional conversation with a fellow student, but for the most part I kept to myself. I had just lived with my parents for so long, and never really interacted with anyone other than my family. My aunt was very fond of me, hence the inheritance.

That single year of high school was hell for me. The other students were so rowdy, and all they seemed to think about was partying and sex. I'll admit that I thought about sex too, I just didn't do it. I knew the statistics on such things. There was no way I was going to end up with a disease, or a child I didn't need. Until I found an actual girlfriend that I knew would be honest and faithful to me, and as long as we used all the proper birth control and safe sex methods, I would just have to settle for my hand. It was always reliable. Lately it was as though my libido had gone into overdrive. I could get hard instantly just thinking about Sookie's smell. That couldn't be normal, could it? What was worse, was that I couldn't stop thinking about her, so I was almost constantly fighting a hard-on. It was getting really annoying. I'd masturbated more in the last month than I had in my entire post-adolescent life, which was simply ridiculous.

I got dressed in my flannel pajamas, and then made myself some dinner, which I sat on the couch to eat while watching a program about Vikings on the History Channel. My parents are from Scandinavia, and I speak fluent Swedish, but I was born in America. I loved to watch things about Vikings because I liked learning about my heritage. My Aunt used to joke that I looked like a Viking. I was able to focus while I ate, but as soon as I finished my meal my mind began to wander. I was thinking about Sookie…again.

She was just so beautiful. It hit me that a woman that beautiful must have a boyfriend. Then again, she had kissed me back; but I didn't exactly give her a chance to tell me if she was seeing someone. I did have to wonder why she was at the library every night if she had a boyfriend. Surely she would go out with him sometimes. At least, if she were my girl, we'd go out together. I decided that she was most likely single, in which case all the men in this college were idiots, and that boded well for me, but what the hell could I do about it? It wouldn't matter if she didn't come back to the library though, and I couldn't blame her if she didn't. I left so fast it was as though I was afraid I caught a deadly disease. I didn't like the thought of not seeing her again, so I decided that I would ask her out if she was there. I was afraid that I would chicken out once I saw her, and I started to become nervous. I had to quickly squash that feeling. I was ready to move forward, and chickening out wasn't going to help me any.

I finally gave up on the TV, and decided to go to bed. As I lay there, I found myself thinking of the kiss again. I was hoping that maybe Sookie would be the girl I'd been waiting for. With a last replay of our kiss in my mind, I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.

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***giggles***

**Sorry, I'm a bit sleep-deprived. It causes me to giggle. **

**Thank you FDM for your brain! *smooches***

**So, you got a teensy bit of zest in that one. I hope that makes up for the shortness of the chapter. The next one is longer...and it's in the library. I may post it tonight...not sure yet. Convince me? *awkward smile***


	5. Getting To Know You Kisses

***giggles***

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Chapter 5

I was so nervous the whole next day. I couldn't focus in any of my classes because all I could think about was Eric, and whether or not he'd be at the library. The closer it got to the time to be there, the more on edge I became. I was so afraid he wouldn't show up. I was also afraid that he wouldn't want me to sit with him anymore, but I wasn't going to change anything. I was going to be strong, and take Amelia's advice to play it cool.

When I walked into the library, I felt my cheeks grow hot as I remembered what happened the last time I was there. I walked over to our table and sat down in the seat next to Eric's. I took a deep breath, and then pulled out my books and began working. I wasn't able to focus, and found myself glancing at my watch frequently. When it finally hit a minute until four, I forced myself to tear my eyes away form the door so that I didn't look desperate if he did happen to show up. I was so focused on looking like I was working, that the next thing I knew, the chair next to me was slowly sliding out. As he sat down, I was engulfed in his familiar scent of clean linen and soap, and I let out a breath of relief.

I risked a glance up at him to offer him a smile, and was pleased to see that he was smiling back. He looked nervous as all get out, which for some weird reason pleased me. Maybe that kiss had affected him just as much as it had me. Neither of us said anything to the other, we just went about out business like we normally would, although I could tell that he was just as on edge as I was. I kept trying to get up the nerve to say something, but every time I tried, the words died in my throat.

It was about fifteen minutes before Eric normally left, when he finally spoke.

"Sookie?" he asked quietly, and I looked up at him. "When do you normally leave the library?"

This was interesting. I wondered where he was going with this.

"Not long after you do usually. It just depends on how much stuff I have to do."

"Would you mind if I stayed until you are ready to leave, so I can walk you back to your dorm?"

Oh. My. God. He was breaking his routine to walk me home. He wanted to walk me home! I couldn't believe it. He seemed so unsure of himself though. It was like he was completely afraid that I'd tell him to take a hike, or laugh in his face. It was the first time I hated living off campus. Surely, he wouldn't want to walk me all the way to my apartment and have to come back to the dorms.

"Well, I'd love that, but I don't live in the dorms." I could see disappointment cross his beautiful features. "I do live near here though. I mean, if you still wanted to walk with me. It's not far; I walk there all the time. I understand if you don't want to leave campus though." He was smiling now.

"No, it's okay. I'd still love to. I live off campus too, so it's no big deal."

"Great," I said, and then turned back to my work. I found that I couldn't stop smiling. Eric went back to his work as well, and I glanced at my watch when it was normally time for him to leave. I noticed that he wasn't making any motions like he wanted to go, so I pretended to work for a few more minutes before beginning to put my stuff away. He followed suit and when we went to stand up, we both got out of our chairs on the side next to each other, causing me to almost fall back into my chair as I crashed into him. He caught me, and there was an awkward moment when we just looked into each other's eyes. He moved his head toward me slightly, and I thought he was going to kiss me again. Instead he seemed to catch himself, and moved out into the aisle effectively letting go of me. My body felt hot where he had touched me for a few seconds, but I shook it off and pushed in my chair.

We left the library under the watchful eye of the same uptight librarian that had interrupted us the night before. I wanted to stick my tongue out at her, but restrained myself. Eric held the door open for me like a perfect gentleman, and I couldn't help but smile at him. I couldn't remember the last time a man had held a door open for me.

"Where do you live?" Eric asked when we were both outside.

"The Meadow View apartments. Which is just a silly name because there aren't any meadows near here. I mean, who do they think they're kidding?"

He actually laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. I was determined to hear it more often.

"I live in the apartment complex right next to that one. I can't believe I've never seen you before." He couldn't have surprised me more.

"The Royal Oaks apartments?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Wow. Those are supposed to be amazing. We tried to get one, but they were all taken."

"We?" he asked cautiously.

"My roommate Amelia, and I."

"Oh, so you don't live with your boyfriend or anything?" _I knew it!_

"No, I don't have a boyfriend." He nodded and turned his head away slightly to hide his smile, which tickled me to no end. He liked me. He wasn't gay, and he liked me. He was also the most gorgeous guy I'd ever seen. "What about you?" I asked.

"What? No. No girlfriend."

"Do you have a roommate?"

"No, I live alone."

"How the heck do you afford a Royal Oaks apartment without a roommate? They're so expensive." I said, before realizing how rude that was. "Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude, you don't have to answer that."

"No it's okay. I live off an inheritance. I got a full scholarship but didn't want to live in the dorms, so I found an apartment and I use my inheritance money to pay for it. I could probably get a job, but I just haven't yet. I prefer having the free time."

"You're very lucky. Amelia's father pays for our apartment, and extras. We just pay the utilities, so we both waitress on the weekends. We make enough in tips in one weekend to cover the bills for a month, and I like having all the free time too."

By that time we were nearing my building. It was only about an eight-minute walk from my apartment building to the library, but with our talking and languid pace we stretched it a few more minutes. When we stopped in front of my building there was another awkward moment where I thought he might kiss me again; he spoke instead.

"Will I see you at the library again tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course. I don't see why not." He smiled, and then looked troubled.

"Sookie, I…I'd like to apologize for attacking you like I did yesterday. I don't know what came over me, but it was completely inappropriate of me, and…" He wasn't able to continue speaking, because I had grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down so that I could kiss him. What a kiss it was. I think he was surprised at first, but quickly responded, and wrapped his arms around my waist. We kissed for a few minutes before I finally pulled away, breathless.

"Well," I said, with my arms still wrapped around his neck, "that time I attacked you, and I'm not apologizing for it. Will I still see you tomorrow?"

His eyes were still closed from the kiss, and he had a slight smile on his face, but he nodded.

"Will you walk me home again?"

Another nod.

I smiled, "Goodnight, Eric."

He finally opened his eyes. "Goodnight," he said dreamily.

With that, I let go of his neck, and I turned around to enter my building. I took my time going to the apartment, and this time when I told Amelia about our kiss we both squeed like little girls and got out the ice cream and 80's movies to celebrate. I wasn't able to stop smiling, and I couldn't wait to get to the library again.

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**I'm still soooo giggly, you guys! I can't thank you enough for all of your awesome reviews! Ya'll are great!**

**Viking kisses to FDM, my beta! MWAH!**

**So, they live very near each other, and Eric lives alone. Hmmmm. What do you think the possibilities are?**


	6. Stinkbomb, Eric's Apt, and Dry Humping

**Thank you everyone for the awesome reviews and alert adds! You guys rock! I'm so glad everyone likes nerdy, virgin Eric. I don't think I got to reply to a few of the reviews, because FF kept giving me an error message. So if you didn't get a reply, I'd like to thank you now. **

**Thank you FDM for putting up with the back and forth on this one. You rock, girl!**

**Here you are, an EPOV! Oh, and this chapter is about 3x longer than the rest, so no complaining about length kay?**

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Chapter 6

Sookie disappeared into her building as I stood there with a goofy ass grin on my face. She had attacked me this time. She let me walk her home, and then she attacked me. I was surprised at first. I was trying to apologize when she did it. I guess she didn't want me to apologize.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and walked down the street a little to my apartment building. As soon as I let myself in, I went straight to my room and sprawled out on my bed. I needed to think.

The entire day had been nerve-wracking. When I woke up it had finally hit me that Sookie might be mad that I had left her there in that disheveled state. For that reason alone, it was possible that she wouldn't show up. It felt like there was a heavy weight in the pit of my stomach every time I thought of her not being there.

I got to the library a few minutes early and used the extra time to calm myself. To me, this was going to be a big step. I took one last deep breath, thankful that I didn't have asthma, and walked into the library.

She was there. She was sitting in the chair next to mine like she always was. I studied her as I walked to the table, and noticed that she was completely stiff. She wasn't her usual relaxed self, and that made the nerves come back full force. When I pulled out my chair and sat down, I heard her let out a breath, and she visibly relaxed. I had never seen my presence do that to someone. I was starting to get confident again, but the nerves were there, just under the surface.

She looked up at me with a smile, and I smiled back. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I was already smiling. We went on to work like we normally would, and I noticed that Sookie kept taking breaths like she was going to say something, but she never did. I wished she would have. I was trying to decide how to ask her out, but I couldn't think of anything special enough. I realized that I wasn't thinking small. I was going to have to take baby steps with this. It was so simple. I could just ask if I could walk her back to her dorm. It would be an easy way to get to know more about her, because she wouldn't have time to prepare like she would for a date. This would be more organic. It made sense to me, so I asked her. I was nervous as hell, but I asked. Then I watched as she went from looking happy, to unsure. She told me that she didn't live in the dorms, and I was immediately disappointed. All my insecurities came rushing back, and I became sure that she lived with a boyfriend. She surprised me then, by saying that she lived near, and that I could still walk her home if I wanted to. Feeling more confident, I told her that I lived off campus as well, and assured her that I still wanted to walk her home.

We went back to work, well, she might have gone back to work, but I went back to staring at my papers with nothing intelligent going on in my head at all. I waited patiently until she began to pack up her things, and then I got my stuff together as well. As we stood up, we crashed into each other. I immediately grabbed Sookie to keep her from falling, and felt that jolt again. She looked right into my eyes, and I almost kissed her, but stopped myself. I didn't want her to think I was a horndog.

I opened the door for her, and noted that she really seemed to like it. She liked gentlemen with manners. Good to know. We had a nice conversation on the walk, and I learned that she lived in the apartment building next to mine. I wasn't quite sure what to do with that information yet. I also found out that she was single, and lived with a female roommate. She has a job on the weekends, though I assumed she must work during the day, because she was still at the library every night.

She wanted to know how I could afford such a nice apartment, and then quickly apologized, saying her question was rude. I didn't find it rude, and the fact that she apologized just made me like her more. I told her about my inheritance, and that I didn't have a job. I was a little ashamed of that. I felt like a prissy rich boy when I told people I lived off an inheritance and didn't have a job, but Sookie understood that I was just lucky.

Things were going so well between us, and I had lost a lot of my nervousness on the walk. Once we had begun talking I felt at ease, but when we reached her building, I felt myself becoming nervous again. I had planned on apologizing to her for my behavior, and knew I had to do it before she went in. I asked if she would come to the library the next day, and she confirmed it, and then I began my apology. I was halfway through when she surprised the hell out of me by grabbing the back of my head, and pulling me to her for a kiss.

It was so amazing, that I thought I was dreaming. She was often assertive in my fantasies and dreams, so I went with it. It was almost better than the library kiss, and the only thing that would have made it better was if her gorgeous legs were wrapped around my waist again.

When she pulled away, I didn't open my eyes. I was still in my dream world, and I didn't want to wake up yet. I heard her say something about attacking me and not apologizing, and then she asked if she would see me tomorrow. I think I nodded. Then she asked if I would walk her home again. Another nod. I finally opened my eyes when she said goodnight. I said it back, and then she walked away smiling.

Now here I was, lying on my bed, sporting wood again, and thinking about the amazing girl an apartment building away. I was wishing she were in my bed with me, even for nothing more than cuddling. I was pretty sure I could just hold her for hours and be happy. Though I don't think my Jr. would be. He'd been neglected for far too long, which brought up the question of whether or not to tell Sookie about my…predicament. I didn't want Sookie to think I wanted her just for sex, and telling her right away would probably give that impression. I genuinely liked Sookie, and wanted to spend time with her, and get to know her. Then again, if I did all that, and she felt the same, she might consider it an untruth or something. If I knew one thing about women, it was that they were complicated with a capital 'C'.

I forced myself to stop thinking, and got up off the bed to shower and take care of the problem in my pants. I was becoming afraid that it would rebel against me soon, and demand more than my hand. I figured that was just paranoia. After my shower, I got something to eat, and watched a little television, and then I went to bed, fully looking forward to the next day.

For once, I finally woke up without feeling nervous. I couldn't remember what happened in my dreams, but whatever it was made me confident as hell. I got ready for the day with a smile on my face. I couldn't wait to get to the library. Sookie had apparently liked it when I kissed her, so I was going to do it again.

My classes were a breeze for me that day, and I was practically running to the library because I was so excited. When I got there I saw a crowd of people standing outside, and a fire truck. What the hell was going on? I asked the nearest kid, and he told me that a bunch of smoke bombs and a stink bomb were set of as a prank. They would have to close the library for a couple of days. I was very disappointed. How the hell would I see Sookie everyday if we didn't have the library? I figured that she had probably already gone home, so I turned to head that way myself when I heard my name being called.

"Eric! Wait!"

I turned back around to see Sookie running up to me. I was quite pleased that she was still here, and that she was running.

"You promised to walk me home," she said with a genuine smile.

"Did you wait here for me?" I asked. She blushed.

"Well, a promise is a promise, and I promised you'd see me today, just as you promised to walk me home."

I could feel my confidence building again when I replied, "Yes, I did. Shall we?"

We began walking, and I asked her about the library. "So what happened in there?"

"It was some sort of frat prank. There were a few smoke bombs and a stink bomb. They went off just before I got there."

"How long will it be before it's open again?"

"The librarian told me it would be a few days at the most."

"So I guess we won't see each other for a few days then" I said rather sadly. I really enjoyed my time with Sookie everyday. She had become part of my routine.

"Only if you don't want to," she said. I gave her a questioning look. "What I mean is, I can't just go home everyday instead of the library. My roommate has her boyfriend over everyday and, well, they have sex all the time, and they're kind of loud. That's why I stay at the library for so long everyday. So if you would like, we can find another place to study together. I would definitely like to see you still."

That was a lot of information. Her roommate had loud sex, so she went to the library to avoid it, and she wanted to see me still. I got an idea.

"How about my place? It's right next to yours, and I live alone so loud sex isn't a problem." I watched her jaw drop slightly, and it took me a second to figure out why. "Oh! No, I…I didn't mean it like that. I don't want to have sex with you or anything…I mean I _do_ want to have sex with you, just not today. I mean I'm not inviting you to my place for sex…" I looked away, horrified. I had no idea why all of that just spilled out of me.

"Eric, it's okay, I understood." She was laughing. "It's a great idea, and I would love to study at your place if you wouldn't mind."

I smiled at her, relieved. "Of course I wouldn't mind, but if you would be more comfortable with a public place, just say so."

"No, I'm most comfortable with you," she paused for a second, and I swear I saw her blush, "besides, it'll be hard to find another quiet place within walking distance of our apartments."

"Yes, it would. I'd love to have you there. You'll be the first, you know?"

"In your apartment?"

I nodded.

"Really? You haven't had any girls over yet? That surprises me."

"No, I haven't. I'm not really that kind of guy. Why does that surprise you?" I was really curious. I never would have seen myself as the kind of guy to have a lot of girls.

She blushed again. "Well, you are pretty good-looking." I couldn't believe she just admitted that. "It's hard to believe that you don't have a girlfriend, let alone that you've never had a girl in your apartment."

"It's the truth," I shrugged.

"Oh, I'm not saying I don't believe you, because I do. It's actually refreshing to know a guy who's not a horndog."

I couldn't help but think that she had no idea how much of a horndog I wasn't. I was hoping that her finding it refreshing would play in my favor when she finally found out about my virgin status. At that point we had reached my building, and I held the door open for her again. I was rewarded with a gorgeous smile, and knew that was reason enough to always open doors for her. I led her to my apartment on the top floor, and unlocked the door before stepping aside to let her in ahead of me. She stood just inside the door and looked around, seemingly taking everything in. I really thought my apartment reflected my own personality, and I hoped she got that impression. I was nervous as hell again, when about a minute later she looked at me with a smile.

"Your place is great."

I smiled back, relieved. "Thank you. I don't have a table other than the coffee table in the living room, so you can take a seat on the couch or the floor, it doesn't matter."

She nodded and made her way to the couch to sit down. I put my keys on the hook by the door, and pulled off my book bag as I walked to the living room. "Can I get you something to drink?" I asked, as I set my bag down on the floor next to her feet.

"No, thank you. I've got my soda," she said as she pulled it out of her bag. "Wow, I can actually have it out in the open here."

I laughed, "Yeah, I suppose I can do the same with my chips." I took the seat next to her, but didn't sit too close. I didn't want her to think I was suggesting anything. As much as I wanted nothing more than to kiss her all the time, I actually liked her too, and I didn't want to make her think I only wanted her for sexual reasons.

We both got out our books to begin working, and before I knew it, time flew by and it was already past the time I normally left the library.

"Wow," I said, "I can't believe the time."

"Oh." She sounded as though she had been woken out of a daydream. "Yeah, I'm usually walking home by now. Maybe I should go on home. I'm sure Tray's gone by now."

"Sure, if you want to," I said, sounding just as disappointed as I felt.

"Well, to be honest, I don't really want to, but I don't want to intrude on whatever you normally do now."

"I'm usually just making some supper and watching a bit of television, but you're more than welcome to join me. I have plenty of food." I was praying that she'd say yes. I didn't want her to leave.

She smiled. "If you're sure it wouldn't be any trouble, I'd love to stay."

I smiled back. "No, no trouble at all. Do you like chicken?"

"Who doesn't?"

I laughed, "Well, I have some chicken breasts in a lemon marinade that I was going to bake tonight. Will you eat that?" I stood up to go into the kitchen and she followed.

"That sounds delicious. I haven't had a home cooked meal like that in a while."

"Do you not like to cook?"

"I love to cook, and I do the cooking in our apartment, Amelia would burn the place down. I just haven't made anything like that in a while. Do you always have homemade meals?"

"Yes. I'm sort of a health nut. I'm not crazy with it, though. I can enjoy a cheeseburger and some greasy fries just as much as the next person, I just don't that often. I grew up on homemade meals, and I liked to help in the kitchen. I wanted to be able to do it myself. Plus, it's much more satisfying."

"That's amazing. I should take a page from your book there. I don't eat as healthily as I should. I could probably stand to lose a few." She looked down awkwardly, and I couldn't have her thinking that she was ugly in any way.

"Sookie, there's nothing wrong with you." Her head snapped back up and she looked into my eyes. "You are gorgeous, every bit of you." She smiled, and nodded slightly.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked.

"Sure, can you grab the chicken out of the fridge?" She did, and we went about fixing the meal together. I made us some roasted potatoes to go with it, and put everything in the oven.

While the food baked, we settled back in on the couch to watch some television. I sat down first, and noticed that when Sookie sat down, she settled a little closer to me than we had been while studying.

"What do you want to watch?" I asked her.

"I don't mind, really. I don't really watch any shows. It's usually on the history or discovery channel when I have the remote, but Amelia likes all those stupid reality shows on MTV, so I don't get to watch it much."

"Well you're in luck, because I happen to have both of those channels, and they are also what I watch frequently."

"Why, Eric, I do believe I like you more every minute." I couldn't help but smile at that. I felt exactly the same way. We ended up settling on Cash Cab, and had a lot of fun answering the questions and laughing at the guesses of some of the participants. Sookie was very smart, getting almost every one right. Before I knew it the timer to the oven was going off, so I got up to check the food. The chicken was perfect, but the potatoes needed a bit more time. I pulled the chicken out and turned the broiler on for the potatoes. They didn't take but a couple of minutes, and then I pulled them out too. I fixed us both a plate and brought them to the living room.

"That smells delicious!" Sookie exclaimed, and I grinned.

"Would you like some water? That's all I have right now, but I could make some tea."

"No, water is fine."

I went back to the kitchen to get the drinks, and when I retuned Sookie was on her cell phone angled away from me.

"That's not going to happen, Amelia, so stop it." I cleared my throat, and she jumped. "I have to go, I'll see you later," she said and snapped her phone shut. "I'm sorry, I just remembered to be responsible and let my roommate know where I was. I'm usually home by now, and I didn't want her worrying."

"Don't apologize, Sookie. It was very considerate of you." I said, as I handed her a glass and sat down. "Now, dig in before it gets cold." I regretted saying that a few seconds later, because when she took her first bite, she moaned. She actually moaned because of food, food that I had cooked, and I was feeling the effects in my pants.

"Oh my goodness, Eric. You have to teach me how to make this. It's so good."

I couldn't say anything, because I was too busy trying to will away my erection, so I took a bite and nodded. I continued to eat and will in silence, while Sookie continued to eat and moan. I couldn't stop watching her. Every time her lips closed around her fork, I imagined them wrapped around me, which wasn't helping the sane part of my brain with the willing. I finished before her, and set my plate on the coffee table, then continued to watch her. She was completely oblivious; she was enjoying her food too much. By the time she finally finished, I had given up on the willing. She set her plate on the table in front of her, and when she turned to me, I leaned in to kiss her. My thumb caressed her cheek lightly, and my lips barely brushed hers. She leaned into me more and pressed her lips fully against mine, but it wasn't hot and passionate this time; it was slow and sweet.

She slowly brought her hands up to run her fingers through my hair as we kissed, and while my right hand still caressed her cheek, my left rested on the top of her thigh. Sookie parted her lips slightly, allowing my tongue access, and I took it. I wasn't sure how good of a kisser I was, so I just went with what felt right to me. We kissed slowly like that for a bit, our tongues moving against each other in a slow rhythm, and then we both got a bit more into it. Sookie leaned into me even more, and I felt her breasts pressing against my chest. I groaned into her mouth, and she pushed me back slightly, and then she straddled my lap.

It was all so much more stimulation than I had ever had, and I knew it wouldn't take much for me to explode in my pants, which was an embarrassment I wanted to avoid. I was trying to go with it, and then she sort of ground onto my erection. I immediately broke the kiss and sat up, causing Sookie to move from my lap.

"Eric? What is it? What's wrong?" she sounded concerned, but embarrassed, like she was ashamed of what just happened.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong. New episode." I muttered and grabbed the remote to turn up the volume on the TV. I could feel Sookie stare at me for a minute, and then she sank back into the couch. We watched the show in silence for a few minutes, and I could finally feel my erection subsiding when Sookie spoke up.

"I really should be getting back now."

"Oh, okay." I said, and stood up. She stood up as well, and picked up her empty plate from supper. "Here, let me take that." I said, as I took it from her.

"Would you like me to help you clean up at all?" she asked.

"No, it's okay. There's not much. Can I walk you back?" I asked hopefully, and was relieved when she smiled.

"Sure." She said. She got her stuff as I put the dishes in the kitchen. Then I grabbed my keys, and we were out the door. We walked down the stairs in silence and when we got out onto the street she spoke.

"Do you still want to study at your place again tomorrow?" She sounded really unsure, and I figured it was because of what happened on the couch.

"Of course I do. Would you like to walk here together again?"

"That sounds great. Where should we meet?"

"How about the library?" I said, and then remembered that we didn't get there at the same time. "Well, if you have too long of a wait, I can just meet you in front of your building at four. You don't have to wait around just to walk with me."

"No, it's okay. I won't have that long of a wait, I don't mind anyway." We were in front of her building.

"Okay, then I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I said. I was afraid she was going to kiss me again. It's not that I wouldn't have welcomed it, but I knew what it would do to me, and I was going to try and avoid getting hard again until my shower.

"Okay." She said, and then surprised me my sort of bouncing up on her toes to give me a quick, chaste peck on the cheek. "Goodnight, Eric." She said cheerfully, and then went into her building.

My jaw dropped slightly, and I reached up to touch the spot on my cheek that she kissed, which was still tingling. I stood there for a few seconds in awe, and then stuffed my hands in my pockets, and walked back to my apartment with a big ass grin on my face.

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***giggles***

**What did you think? Should I let Eric get some real sexual action soon? **


	7. He's A Virgin, Duh

**Yesum, I'm updating again. It's shorter than the last one, but it's a fun one! I don't know about updates over the weekend, I have to work, but I'll try! Everyone have a good holiday weekend!**

**Thank FDM for this one guys! She got back to me super fast! I'm telling you...*whispers* she's wonderwoman!**

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Chapter 7

"Amelia!" I hollered as soon as I got into the apartment. "Chocolate!"

"I'm on it roomie," she said, as she came up the hall and headed for the kitchen.

I trudged into the living room, and plopped down onto the couch. Amelia came in a minute later with a bag of Dove milk chocolates, and sat down next to me.

"How bad was it that you need chocolate? Could he not get it up or something?"

I actually snorted. "That's so not a problem for him."

"Well, then why are you coming in here hollering for chocolate?"

"I don't know what the problem is." I was so confused.

"Start at the beginning." Amelia told me. She was good at talking me through things. We'd been doing this for years.

"Well, there was that frat prank at the library, so Eric asked if I'd like to study with him at his place until the library opened again."

"But not in a creepy way, right. You're safe with him, aren't you?" Believe it or not, Amelia actually had a motherly side to her.

"Yes, I'm safe with him. He was actually nervous that I would think he was only inviting me for sex. He's also never had a girl there, which I could hardly believe. He's too gorgeous not to have hooked up with someone yet."

"You don't think he's lying?"

"No, I don't. There's something so innocent about him. I just can't place it, but I don't think he'd ever lie to me."

"I believe you. So, what happened when you got there? Did you jump him?" she asked excitedly.

"No! I swear, you want me to get laid more than I do."

"Can you blame me? You are so wound up over this guy, Sooks."

"I am not!"

"Yeah, you are, but it's okay. Continue," she said with an air of authority. I took that moment to eat a piece of the chocolate to make her wait. She crossed her arms and stared me down until I finished it.

"When we got there, we studied like we normally would in the library. Except we were sitting on his couch, and the entire place smelled like him. Time flew by, and he invited me to stay for supper."

"He cooks?" Amelia didn't understand the concept of a male being able to cook. Tray couldn't microwave popcorn.

"Yes, and it was delicious. It was an actual home cooked meal, and I'm going to start fixing more of those around here. We eat way too many boxed dinners and take out pizzas."

"Fine, whatever. Now, what happened after you ate? When was it that you called me?"

"I called you just after the food got done, while he was getting us drinks. Then we ate, and as soon as I put my plate down he kissed me." Amelia squealed. "It wasn't like that. It wasn't like the others. It was slow, and sweet. Unhurried."

"Well, that's not any fun."

"Oh, it got fun."

"Details," she prompted.

"I took a page from your book again, and got assertive."

"Why do you always say it's a page from my book? All that assertiveness is in you, it's just coming out with Eric for some reason." I couldn't help but think she was right, but I wasn't ready to admit it.

"Well, page from your book or not, it happened. I pushed him back on the couch and straddled him."

"Go Sookie! Wait, where does this problem come in. This should be leading to some pretty hot sex."

"If you'd stop interrupting, I'd get there." I said, annoyed. She just stared at me, granting me my request. "I knew he had a hard-on because I saw it when we started kissing, so I sort of…"

"Dry-humped him?" she asked, way too seriously.

"No! Gross. I hate that term. I just sort of…rubbed up against him."

"Is that bad? Oh no, he didn't come in his pants did he?" she asked, bringing her hand up to stifle a giggle.

"No, he didn't. He just immediately stopped kissing me, and acted like the TV was more interesting."

"Maybe he's got a small penis and he's embarrassed?" she suggested.

"There is no way he has a small penis. I've felt it through his pants twice now, and it's nowhere near small." I had to smile a bit at remembering the feel of it. If I ever got to actually see it, I know I'd be one happy Sookie. "I just don't know what to make of it. He's an amazing kisser, and he obviously gets aroused around me, but he's also very nervous and shy."

Amelia looked like she was thinking something through, and then it looked like a light bulb went on in her brain and she smiled. "Okay, not knowing what he looks like, but based on what you just said, it sounds like you have yourself a virgin."

"What?! There's no way he's a virgin. He's gorgeous, and so sweet, and…"

"A virgin." She sounded so sure. "Listen to the way you describe him, Sookie. Think about it. He lives alone, and off campus by choice. He's in the library every night. He does everything by a routine. He's shy and awkward around you. He gets hard easily, and he probably stopped last night because he was afraid to go any further. He's never done it. I don't care how shy a guy is; if he's got a hard dick and a willing girl on top of him grinding against it, something's happening. He's a virgin, Sookie."

My jaw dropped. She was right. Eric, the nerd I had been crushing on since school started, was a virgin. It made so much sense. I knew he wanted me, and not only physically. He wouldn't have insisted on walking me home if he didn't want me. It's possible he was just being polite, but it didn't feel that way. He liked having me near him. We were relaxed around each other. That is, until things got heated, which is when he freaked and pulled back.

"How in the hell did I not see this before?" I asked, and grabbed two more chocolates.

"You like him, that's how. Also, The Asshole practically ruined your chances at seeing the innocence in anyone." I glared at her. I hated it when she brought him up.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I can't take his innocence. I can't be that girl. Besides we don't even know if this is true. Wouldn't he have told me by now?" I was panicking.

"He obviously likes you, Sookie. Can you really blame him for not telling you? If he's as sweet as you say he is, he probably doesn't want to come right out and say it, because you'd think he just wants to have sex with you. He's new to this stuff. Don't close off now; you've been doing so well with him." She took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "I want to see you happy with a guy again. I see the way you smile when you talk or think about him, and I'd like to see that smile more often. Talk to him. Give him a chance."

I thought it over. I tried to put myself in his place. If I was a virgin still, and met a guy I liked in college, I would want him to accept that. I would want him to not pressure me into anything, and take it slow. Eric being a virgin was most definitely not a deal breaker. Hadn't that been my biggest problem with Bill? He had many sexual partners before me, and made it known often. I couldn't trust him, but I could definitely see myself trusting Eric. He hadn't lied to me about being a virgin, and I could understand why he wouldn't have come right out and said it. I liked him too much to give up.

"So how do I do this?" I asked, and Amelia got a huge smile on her face.

"Sookie, do you realize how good this is? You're the experienced person here. You get to teach him," she said excitedly.

"How do I even know that he wants to learn?"

"I have a feeling that he's a giving kind of guy. If you do this right, you can practically train him to worship you exactly how you want." I glared at her, which I seemed to be doing a lot lately.

"As appealing as being worshipped sounds, I don't think I want to "train" him. That sounds so wrong. It sounds like I'm using him."

"I don't mean it in a bad way, Sookie. I'm not talking about full on dominance. What I mean is that because you'll be his first, because you're the experienced one, you can really show him how it's done. You can teach him exactly what you like, and show him how to do it right. The last thing the world needs is another guy who thinks jackrabbit sex is fun for everyone." I had to laugh. It was true.

"What should I do first?" I asked. I felt so lost.

"Go to your study session tomorrow, and try to find out if he's really a virgin. If you want to be with him, you two have some talking to do."

"How am I supposed to broach the subject? It seems rude to just come out and ask him."

"I can't tell you that, but I know you'll figure it out. I can tell you that you should probably blow him soon."

"Amelia!" I couldn't believe her sometimes.

"What? If he really is a virgin, he's probably had a nice man-to-hand relationship for a while. He needs some stimulation from a female, and soon. Besides, it'll be his first, and you can really show him that you know what you're doing, and that you like to give. Then maybe he'll want to give back." She waggled her eyebrows, and I laughed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

"I can. Now stop thinking so much, you'll be fine. Try to get your mind off of it for now. Let's make some popcorn and watch a movie." She was always so optimistic. I hugged her.

"Thank you, Amelia. I really appreciate you being here for me on this."

"I always will be, friend."

I let go of her and took a deep breath. "Okay, what movie should we watch?"

"How about The 40 Year-Old Virgin?" she said, with a smirk.

I picked up a throw pillow, and hit her with it. "Not funny, Amelia." I said, as I laughed.

"It's funny, and we're so watching it."

We did watch it, and then I took a long, hot bath before bed. I couldn't get Eric and my newfound realization out of my head. I actually found myself hoping it was true, and I couldn't wait to find out.

* * *

***giggles***

**So, now she knows...or thinks she does. Hmm...more possibilities. **

***giggles and runs away***


	8. She's My Girlfriend, I'm A Virgin

**I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, despite the lack of True Blood. Seriously, it sucks that it wasn't on. I'm having withdrawls. But! If you haven't seen them yet there are some yummy new Eric pic on the HBO website. Black tank top *thud* **

**Big thanks to FDM, Galla, and Zigs for this chapter! You girls rock!**

**Without furter ado...**

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Chapter 8

I woke up the next morning feeling pretty groggy. I hadn't been able to fall asleep at a decent time the night before. Despite Sookie's reassuring peck on the cheek, I was afraid she thought I didn't want her. I knew I was getting to the point when I'd have to tell her about being a virgin, and that scared the hell out of me.

I wasn't ashamed of it, and I never had any problems with anyone knowing. Most of the kids in my high school knew; but for the first time, I was afraid of what someone would think of me. I knew that women liked men who know what they're doing, and while I had theory down _very _well, would Sookie want to be with a guy who wasn't at least a little practiced?

My mind buzzed all day with worries and questions, but by the time I was to meet Sookie at the library I had finally decided I should tell her the truth. I found her sitting on a bench in front of the library, reading a book and I walked up to her.

"Sookie?" I said gently, not wanting to startle her. She looked up and smiled. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." She put her book in her bag, and stood up. Then she surprised me by stretching up to plant a sweet kiss on my lips. I swear I was blushing. Guys are not supposed to blush.

"What was that for?" I asked with a smile. I had enjoyed it.

"Just because," she said, and then we began walking.

"What am I to you, Eric?" she asked. Her question came out of nowhere, and I didn't know what to say.

"What do you mean, exactly?" I managed to croak out.

"Well, I know you like me, but am I just a fling for you, or something more?" She sounded nervous when she asked, and I wondered which answer she was more afraid of.

"I do like you. I like you a lot, Sookie, and you're definitely not a fling." I paused, and she didn't speak, so I stopped walking. I debated quickly in my head about whether or not to say what I did next. I decided to go all in, the worst thing she could do was say no. "I would actually like it very much if you would be my girlfriend." I watched her eyes carefully, and noticed that they seemed to brighten, like she was smiling through them.

"I would like it very much if you would be my boyfriend," she said, and I smiled.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

When we finally stopped grinning at each other like fools, we began walking again, and this time Sookie took my hand. I laced my fingers with hers, and enjoyed the warm and fuzzy feeling I got from my first handholding with my girlfriend. I was so happy that I could call her my girlfriend, and knew that it meant I had to tell her. I couldn't keep it from her any longer.

When we entered my apartment, Sookie went and sat on the couch like she had the day before. I joined her, and we got out our books to begin studying. About twenty minutes later I found that I couldn't really concentrate on anything, and I noticed Sookie shuffling her papers around more than she ever had. I was getting really nervous, because I knew I had to tell her, and then she spoke.

"Eric?" She asked. I looked at her and tried to offer a smile, but I probably came off looking deranged. "Are you okay?" She asked, as she cupped my cheek with her hand. I tensed slightly at her touch and stayed silent. I didn't know what to say. She pressed on, "You said you hadn't had another woman here." My eyes widened as I realized what she was getting at. I wasn't completely sure, so I remained silent while I had an inner anxiety attack. "I've been thinking about what happened here last night." My mouth finally caught up with my brain.

"Sookie, I can explain that. I just…well, I'm…"

"No, it's okay. I think I know. You're a virgin, aren't you?" She grabbed my hand, and I felt really uncomfortable.

"Is it that obvious?" I couldn't believe she just guessed it.

"No! Not at all. I never would have guessed until last night, and I wasn't completely sure until now."

"It doesn't change your opinion of me does it?"

"It doesn't. I like you, Eric. Your sexual history doesn't matter to me," she said, and she sounded very sure of herself.

"Even if I'm not that great? What if I can't please you? I want you to have as much fun as me."

She smiled. "That's exactly why you will be great. Don't worry about it Eric. It's not like we're going to do it now. We'll ease up to it, and by the time we do, you'll know exactly how to please me, I promise."

"You're okay with that? Easing up to it?"

"Of course I am. I know I seemed…eager, last night, but it's just been a long time for me, and you just…I don't know how to explain it."

"Make you have impulse control issues?" I asked. She nodded and laughed. "I know exactly what you mean."

"So is everything okay then? Was that what was bothering you?"

"Yeah, that was it. I knew I had to come clean and tell you, but you sort of beat me to the punch."

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked. I nodded. "Why are you still a virgin? I mean, you're extremely good-looking, and it's hard to believe you went almost twenty years with no sex."

"I just never did it. I was home schooled until my senior year of high school, and while the other students only seemed to think about and have sex, it just wasn't appealing to me. None of them had safe sex, and I didn't want to end up with a disease, or a kid."

"I don't blame you there."

"Can I ask you a question?"

She nodded.

"How many men have you been with?" I felt like a jerk asking it, and she immediately blushed and hung her head. I raised her chin and she met my eyes. "It won't change my opinion of you." I said honestly, and it wouldn't.

"One. He was…well, you probably don't want to know about him."

"It's okay, you can tell me." I really didn't mind. The only thing I didn't want to know was if he was great in bed. Also, I could tell that she wanted to tell me to ease my mind about the whole virgin thing. She must have been through something, and I wanted her to be able to share it.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, "I am."

"His name was Bill, and he was my boyfriend in high school. Well, just during our junior year. He was sort of a ladies' man. He'd been with a lot of really gorgeous girls, and then he wanted me. I was smitten, and very naïve. I dated him, and he pressured me for sex a lot. He would rub it in my face that he could have any girl he wanted, and openly flirted with other girls in front of me. So, I finally gave in. That summer he set it up so that I would catch him cheating on me, so I would break up with him, and I did."

I wanted to kill this Bill asshole. I was so pissed that someone would do something like that to a girl as sweet as Sookie. As kind and sweet and she was now, I could only imagine what she was like before Bill took her innocence.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." I told her, but what I really wanted was to ask for this guy's address.

"I am, and I'm not. I hate that he made a fool of me, but I also learned something from it. I'm much more wary with guys now." She paused for a moment, and then continued, "I want you to know that I got tested after we broke up, and I didn't have anything. We always used protection, but you never know."

I have to admit that I was relieved, and glad that she seemed to feel the same way about protection. "Thank you for telling me." I said, and she smiled.

"So what should we do now? I'm not really in the mood to study," she said, and then scooted closer to me. I was aroused and nervous at the same time. She had said we weren't going to do it right away, hadn't she?

"I…I don't know that much. I mean, I know what I've read, and I know what I've seen…not in person, but I've seen videos…I'm not a porn fiend or anything, but sometimes, you get these e-mails, you know? And the pop-up's…"

Sookie laughed, and then placed a brief kiss on my lips, "I know a little bit," she told me. "And I know about those pop-up windows too," she added with a chuckle. "If it's all right with you, Eric… can I show you some of what I know?"

"I...I don't really think we should…" She pressed her finger to my lips and I stopped talking.

"Relax, Eric. I'm just suggesting a little making out. You're an amazing kisser, and it's a great place to start."

"I'm an amazing kisser?" I asked. I could hardly believe that.

"Oh yes. You must be a natural. Just keep doing what you've been doing, and you'll be fine," she said, and then her lips were on mine. I kissed her back, and then she stopped and pulled back for a second. "Eric, if you want to stop at any point, just tell me. I won't go too far without your permission, I promise."

I nodded. I was glad she was going about this the way she was. I wasn't afraid of the sex itself, I was just nervous that I wouldn't do it right. I wanted to be a good lover. Sookie was okay with easing up to it, and that was the way I wanted to do it.

We began kissing again, and Sookie seemed to be letting me set the pace. I took it slow, kissing her sweet lips while I ran my fingers through her hair. I tried not to think about the kissing too much. She had told me I was a natural, so I just went with what felt right. I darted my tongue out and licked her top lip, causing her to part them and allow me access to her mouth. She moaned when our tongues met, and leaned into me. I took that as a good sign, and tentatively put my hands on her waist to pull her to me even more. My back was against the arm of the couch so Sookie straddled my lap again, but I noticed that she sat more on my thighs this time, careful not to rub against my rapidly growing erection. I moved from her lips and began to plant small kisses along her neck and across her collarbone. I remembered that she seemed to respond to the spot just under her ear, so I kissed her there, causing her to let out another moan. I moved back to her lips and she began kissing me with passion, and I knew I must have aroused her. That was a really good feeling. My hands hadn't been doing much, so I took the opportunity of having her so close to reach around and grab her gorgeous ass. I kneaded it with my hands and groaned into her mouth. It felt fantastic. I could feel her smiling against my mouth, and I pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"What?" I asked innocently, but with a smirk.

"Find something you like?" She smirked back as she pushed against my hands. I nodded, and knew I must have looked something like a kid who was just asked if they found their favorite candy. She simply smiled in return and resumed kissing me.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, just kissing while I squeezed her ass, her hands in my hair. Then she moved from my lips, and began to suck on my neck. I took the opportunity to smell her hair as it fell in my face. I assumed it's not creepy if you're making out, and I had been dying to do it. She smelled phenomenal, and for some weird reason the smell of her hair stirred something in me, and I swiftly moved Sookie to her back so that she was under me. She gasped in surprise, and I had a sharp intake of breath as well when I felt myself firmly pressed against her. I paused for a moment, and she gave me a reassuring smile before leaning up slightly to kiss me. We quickly got back into it, and before long Sookie was running her hands under my sweater and up my back. My hand found it's way under her shirt as well, and caressed the soft skin of her side. She practically trembled underneath my touch, and I got such a sense of power knowing how she reacted to me. I moved my hand further up and palmed her breast. She gasped at the contact and arched her back, which caused her to rub against me in just the right way, and I nearly lost control. I pulled away from her and sat back in my spot. She sat up and looked at me questioningly.

"We have to stop now," I told her.

She nodded, and scooted closer to me. I was a bit worried about what she might do, but she simply picked up the remote, and snuggled into my chest. I put my arm around her and kissed her temple, feeling like the luckiest guy in the world. We watched the history channel for a while, and then Sookie made to get up. I tried to pull her back to me, and she smiled, but got up anyway.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go home now, I promised Amelia I would make her some supper tonight." She really looked sorry that she had to go.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" I asked.

"I have to work in the morning, but I get off at two. The rest of my day is free, but I thought we'd just study again," she said as she packed up her books.

"Well, I'd like to take you on an actual date. That is if you want to. If you just want to study again, that'd be fine too. We could rent a movie, and I could make us some supper. Or…"

"Eric." She interrupted me, and I realized I had been rambling. "A date would be wonderful." She was smiling broadly, and I knew I had made her quite happy with my suggestion.

"Great." I smiled back. "I want to make you dinner as well, if that would be alright."

"That sounds great. Do you have a cell?" She asked, and I nodded. "Let's exchange numbers, and I'll call you when I get off work tomorrow, sometimes the next girl is a little late."

"Okay." I said, and we programmed our numbers in each other's phones. "Can I walk you back?" I asked.

"I would love that," she said, and took my hand. On the way out the building she spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything."

"How on earth do you have all those muscles?" I think I may have blushed again. There was a reason I dressed the way I did, and it wasn't just because sweaters are insanely comfortable. I liked being fit, but if you showed it off, girls never really left you alone, or quit staring. "I really couldn't help but notice. You have hard abs, and muscular arms and shoulders, and your back…"

"Do my muscles turn you on, Sookie?" I asked her. She blushed, and I was a bit shocked at how forward I sounded.

"Well, yeah…" she trailed off, and I chuckled a bit.

"I go to the gym three mornings a week, and on the weekends. Running, swimming, and rock climbing are what I do the most of. My father got me into it."

"How early do you get up to do that?"

"Five, usually. I go to bed at a decent time though, and I've never really been one to require a whole lot of sleep."

"I've always wanted to try rock climbing. It seems really fun, though I think I could only do it in a gym. I would die if I did it on an actual rock," she laughed.

"You should come with me sometime. I think you'd really like it, and I'd love to spend more time with you." I told her.

"That sounds great. We'll have to do that soon, because I would love to spend more time with you too."

We reached the front of her building, and she turned to me. "Thank you for walking me back, Eric," she said, and then she stretched up to kiss me. I leaned down to meet her lips, and she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I broke away after a few seconds and said, "It's my pleasure, Sookie."

She smiled, "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay," I smiled back.

"Goodnight, Eric."

"Goodnight, Sookie."

She gave me a smile, and a small wave, and then went into her building. I turned to walk home, where I had some supper, watched some TV, took a long, hot, satisfying shower, and went to bed. I thought about Sookie the entire time, and I couldn't wait for our first date.

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***giggles* Seriously, this fic is too much fun! **

**Thank you to everyone who's reading, reviewing, putting it on alert...I love you all! *smooches***


	9. Reflections and Anticipation

**Yeah...I'm sooo blanking on this a/n...**

**Thank you to FDM for beta'ing this so fast for me! *huggles***

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Chapter 9

As soon as I entered the apartment, Amelia jumped up from where she had been sitting on the couch. I took my time hanging my keys up and setting my bag down, and then removing my shoes. When I finally looked at her, I could see that she was practically vibrating with anxiousness to know what happened.

"Well?" she said.

"Well what?" I asked.

"Sookie, don't do this to me! I'm dying here! I couldn't even enjoy it when Tray…" she began, but I cut her off. I really didn't need to know that much.

"Whoa there, Amelia. I was just having a bit of fun. Come help me fix supper, and I'll tell you everything."

She squealed and followed me into the kitchen, where I told her how to make the salad, while I set about fixing us some soup.

"If you don't start talking soon, I'll die," she said.

"Alright, alright. He came to meet me at the library at four, and I sort of dived right in by asking him what I was to him. He assured me that I'm not just a fling, and then he asked me to be his girlfriend."

"Oh my god! You said yes, right?"

"Yes, I did. Eric is now my boyfriend." I said, and I couldn't suppress the huge grin that crossed my face from being able to call him that.

"Well? Stop grinning and tell me what happened next!"

"We went back to his apartment, and studied…for a while."

"Would you stop with the teasing?! Just tell me already!"

I laughed, "Okay. He was acting really nervous, so I asked him what was wrong, and then I thought it would be as good a time as any to bring up the whole virgin thing. I tried to indirectly ask him at first, and when I brought up what happened on the couch, he tried to explain it, but he got really flustered. So I just straight up asked him." I paused for dramatic affect, and Amelia looked like she was ready to kill me.

"And?!"

"Amelia, you are way too excited about this."

She simply glared at me.

"Yes, he is a virgin."

"Oh my god! I knew it!"

"Yes, you did. Congratulations, Amelia," I said sarcastically.

"Did you find out why? I mean, if he's as hot as you say he is, I can't imagine how it could have taken him this long."

"He just never did it. He's not afraid of women or anything. He said he was home schooled until his senior year, and while everyone else was doing it, he wasn't willing to get a disease or a kid."

"So he's all about protection?"

"I think so. I haven't told him that I'm on the pill yet, because I don't want to seem too eager, but he knows I'm clean. I'm sure he'll want to take all the precautions there are."

"But if you two are committed, and you're on the pill, there's no reason…"

"I know, but that's a conversation we should have when things get a bit more serious. I've already told him we can ease up to actual sex. I know he'll be great."

"He's a virgin, how can you know that?"

"Because he's worried that he won't be. He told me that he wants me to be able to have as much fun as him, so I'm going to make sure that by the time we finally do it, he knows exactly how to make me happy."

"Now that's what I want to hear! Have you blown him yet?"

"No, I haven't. We just made out a little tonight, and he's got an aggressive side in there somewhere. He actually took control for a bit, but he stopped us when… well, I guess when it became too much for him."

"You do realize that when you finally blow him, which better be soon, that he's not going to last very long."

"Yes, I do know that, and I think the reason he keeps pulling away is because he doesn't want to have a Quinn moment."

Amelia actually snorted. "Oh my god, I can't believe you brought that up. So glad you stopped seeing that dumbass."

Quinn had been a guy I went on a couple of dates with over the summer before college. He was respectful of me, and didn't try anything after our first date, so I thought he might be a keeper. Then after our second date, we were kissing, just kissing, in his car before I went inside, and when I laid my hand on his knee, he came. I was horrified. Quinn was no virgin, and a lot of the girls he dated said he was bad in bed, but I chalked that up to them being bitter about their break ups. Apparently, Quinn had some premature issues. Needless to say, I never returned his phone calls after that date.

"Well, he's already lasted longer than Quinn ever did, so I think we'll be fine as long as we work up to it."

"I think so too. Sookie, I'm so happy for you. I think Eric will make you very happy. Then maybe you can forget about Asshole."

"I told Eric about him."

"What? Why?"

"He wanted to know. After I told him, he actually looked pissed. I've never seen him angry before, but I'm guessing he was holding some in."

"He must really care for you."

"I think he does. I care for him too. It's not just about sex with us, not the way it was with Bill. Eric actually wants to take me on a date."

"Aww! He asked you on a date? That's so cute."

"You are way too invested in this."

"Oh, hush. It's adorable. I'm just so happy you found yourself a good one. When and where are you going for your date?" She asked.

"Tomorrow, and I don't know. I'm going to call him when I get off work, and I'm sure I'll find out more then."

"I have to meet him!"

"Why?"

"If you two are officially together, and going on dates, then it's only right that the best friend/roommate gets introduced to him."

"You know, you're right Amelia. I'll see what I can do, but you have to promise me something."

"Anything."

"When you meet him, you cannot say anything about him being a virgin. Don't tell Tray either. This is something that is his choice for people to know, okay?"

"I promise. I won't say anything, and I haven't told Tray."

"Thank you."

By that time, our supper was finished so we sat and ate while Amelia tried to describe the finer points of giving a blowjob. I blushed through the entire meal, but couldn't bring myself to tell her that I had a knack for them. Bill had always loved my talents in that department. It was the only reason I was able to hold off on actual sex with him for so long. At least I knew with Eric it would be different. I wouldn't be doing it to hold off sex, I would be doing it work up to sex.

After we finished supper, Amelia offered to do the dishes so that I could shower and go to bed. We worked at the same restaurant, and I took the morning shift so that Amelia could sleep in. She wasn't a morning person, and she was more comfortable working around the drunks at night anyway. Tray always picked her up after her shift to be safe. They had been together for three years, and he was a great guy. I was actually surprised that she wanted me to live with her at college instead of Tray. She told me that while she loved him, she definitely couldn't live with him yet. So he lived in the dorms, but came over often to spend time with her. She didn't worry about him at all, because he was head over heels for her. It was actually kind of nauseating sometimes, that is, if you could get past all the sex they have.

My thoughts of Amelia and Tray having sex all the time led to thoughts of Eric and I having sex all the time. Even though I told him we would ease up to it, and we would, I found myself extremely excited for the main event. I had no illusions about a romantic atmosphere, or of Eric lasting a long time. What I was sure of, was that afterwards he would want to do it over and over again. It's like when you give chocolate to a kid the first time. Once just isn't enough. With that thought swirling around in my brain, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke the next morning with a smile on my face. I wondered if Eric was thinking of me as much as I was thinking of him. I got ready for work, and had a quick bowl of cereal before I left. The morning seemed to fly by, and I was actually making better tips than I normally did. I assumed it was because I was smiling so much, but I couldn't help it. Before I knew it, the next girl was there, and it was time for me to leave. I found that I was getting really nervous, because I had no idea where Eric wanted to take me. There wasn't a whole lot we could do outside, because it was getting cold, so I assumed we would just go to a movie or something. I wouldn't know until I called him, so I hurried home.

Amelia and Tray were having a bit of fun when I got there, so I went out to the hall to call Eric. He answered after the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Eric." I was even smiling at the phone.

"I take it you're off work now," he said, and I swear I could almost hear that he was smiling.

"Yes, I am. I still need to shower, but I'm home. When do I need to be ready?" I felt like a schoolgirl with a crush.

"Can you be ready in an hour?"

"Yes, I can. Do I need to wear anything special, or is this more casual?"

"Um… well, nothing fancy. I'm just wearing jeans and a sweater."

"Okay then, I'll see you in an hour."

"Okay," he said, and then he practically shouted, "Wait!"

"Yes?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

"I want to pick you up at your place, if that's okay." He sounded so nervous, but the gesture was so sweet.

"Of course that's okay. I would like that very much."

I told him our apartment number, then we said goodbye, and I went off to get ready. I showered quickly, and blow-dried my hair so that it fell in soft waves over my shoulders. I put on a little eyeliner and mascara, and then got dressed. I decided on a pair of jeans that made my butt look really, really hot, and a t-shirt. I normally would have worn a nice top, but he said he was wearing a sweater, so I didn't want to look off standing next to him. Just as I gave myself a once-over in the mirror, and declared myself ready, there was a knock on the door. I took a deep breath, tried to wipe the huge grin off my face, and went to answer it.

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**Next chapter is the date! Yay!**

**I have a family reunion in another state to attend on Saturday, so I won't be getting much writing done, but I'm going to try! **

**I would like to thank all my readers and reviewers! You guys are fuckawesome and I'm so glad everyone is loving this story!**

***group huggles***


	10. Casablanca and Roast

**I'm back! I was able to finish this chapter on the way home yesterday, and I've got a good portion of the next one done, so the wait shouldn't be too long :) **

**Huge thanks to FDM for being the best beta out there. *smooches***

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Chapter 10

When the door opened, I couldn't suppress my smile. Sookie looked beautiful, as always, and I was glad she didn't go over-the-top with her outfit or makeup. She was gorgeous just as she was. She smiled up at me, and I pulled my hand from behind my back to hand her the single tulip I brought for her. Her smile widened as she took it, and she asked me to step inside for a second.

"I'll be right back," she said, and went off down the hallway. She came back a minute later without the flower and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for the flower."

"You're welcome."

She smiled, and started to lead me to the door when someone yelled her name. She tensed up a bit and mouthed, "I'm sorry" to me, before turning around to greet the girl coming up the hall with disheveled hair, wearing nothing but a robe.

"Don't you even think about leaving before you introduce me," the girl I assumed to be Amelia said.

"You couldn't have gotten dressed?" Sookie asked her quietly.

"Why? Tray's still here for an hour before I have to go to work."

Sookie sighed before turning slightly to face me, and said, "Eric, this is Amelia, my roommate. Amelia, this is Eric, my boyfriend."

I smiled broadly at hearing Sookie call me her boyfriend. "Hello, Amelia. It's nice to meet you," I nodded at her.

"It's nice to meet you too, Eric. You're very handsome. I can see why Sookie likes you so much. Would you mind informing me of your intentions towards her?" She asked. Sookie and I both gaped at her.

"Um…are you serious?" I asked.

She burst out in laughter, "No, I'm not. I just thought I'd freak you both out a bit. Did it work?"

"A bit," I answered honestly.

"Good! Don't worry though; I'm harmless unless you hurt her," she said ominously, and with a completely serious expression. I knew not to cross Amelia. "Now, go off on your little date and have fun. Don't get home too late, Sookie."

"I'll still be home before you, Amelia. Goodbye." Sookie told her as she took my hand and pulled me out the door.

"It was really nice meeting you, Amelia." I said over my shoulder as we went through the door.

As soon as the door was closed behind us, Sookie stopped and said, "Eric, I am so, so sorry about that. She's a bit crazy, but she means well and…"

"Sookie, it's okay. I can tell that she's just looking out for you. I'm glad you have someone that cares that much."

She smiled and stretched up to kiss me on the lips, and then we left to go on our first date.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" She asked as we exited the building.

"Well, you told me that you like movies, especially old ones, and there's a theater in town that plays old movies on the weekends. The movie we're seeing, however, will remain a secret until we get there."

"That sounds amazing! I didn't know there was a theater here that played old movies. I can't wait to see what the movie is." She was rambling happily, which pleased me, because I knew I did a good job picking what we were going to do.

The theater wasn't too far away, and I wanted to take her there before the weather got too cold for walking that far. I was considering getting a car, but didn't really want to bother. Everything essential was within walking distance, so why pollute the air?

We held hands the whole way, and when we rounded the corner and saw the marquee, she squeezed my hand.

"Casablanca?! I love Casablanca! This is so great! I've always wanted to see it on a big screen."

I laughed, "I'm glad you're happy with it."

"Oh, definitely. I'm very happy," she said with an honest smile.

We continued on to the theater, and I bought our tickets. I asked Sookie if she wanted any popcorn, but she declined, insisting on waiting until supper. I was happy about that, because I had a roast in the oven at home. There were only a few other couples in the theater, almost all of them elderly. We took our seats, and Sookie quickly found that the seats had those armrests that you could lift up. She lifted the one between us, and I put my arm around her as she snuggled into my side. Her hand rested on the top of my thigh, and I was surprised that I didn't get hard from her touch, but I was so relaxed with her at that moment.

The movie started up, and not long into it, Sookie rested her head on my shoulder. I held her closer to me and quietly inhaled the scent of her hair. About halfway into the movie, Sookie lifted her head and looked at me. I thought she wanted to say something, so I leaned closer to her, but instead of speaking she pressed her lips against mine. I was a little embarrassed to be kissing in a room with other people, but when I shifted my eyes around to look at them, I saw that none of them were paying any attention, so I closed my eyes and kissed her back. She angled her body towards me more, and I did the same. She parted my lips with her tongue, and I happily grazed it with my own. Her arms wrapped around my torso, and her body pressed against mine. Now there was definitely something stirring in my jeans. I can't tell you how long we kissed, because it felt like forever, but still wasn't long enough. When she pulled away we were both breathing heavily. She kissed me once more on the cheek, and then resumed her position snuggled into my side again. She didn't put her hand on my thigh again, and I realized that she was giving me a sufficient amount of time to get that situation under control before we left.

I watched the rest of the movie feeling quite relaxed and carefree, and when Bogie uttered his last line, _"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,"_ I couldn't help but think the same thing about my relationship with Sookie.

The lights came back on, and I stood up and took Sookie's hand in mine. "Are you ready for the second part of our date?" I asked her.

"Yes, I am," she smiled back at me. We left the theater, and walked back to my apartment hand in hand in a comfortable silence. That was one of the things I loved about being with Sookie. There was so much that didn't need to be said between us. We were comfortable and relaxed with each other, and that was a great thing to feel with someone.

When we entered my apartment this time, Sookie immediately smelled the roast.

"What are you cooking that smells so amazing?" She asked.

"Roast with carrots and potatoes." I told her.

"You're spoiling me," she said sweetly as she faced me, and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"How so?" I asked, as I pulled her closer to me.

"If you keep taking me on amazing dates, kissing me like you do, and cooking amazing meals for me, you'll have me ruined for anyone else."

"I'll have to remember that." I smirked at her. I would have to remember that. If I could ruin her for other men just by being myself, then why not? I wouldn't mind being with her for a long time. I had a feeling she was ruining me for other women. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful woman, for one, and there were things about our relationship that just couldn't be duplicated. We observed each other so long before we even spoke, that by the time we did, we were already comfortable with one another. I knew I wouldn't be able to find that with anyone else, and I really didn't want to.

"I'll just go check the food real quick. Why don't you find us something good to watch?"

"Okay," she said, and then reluctantly broke from me, and headed to the living room.

I went to the kitchen to check the roast, which still had about thirty minutes left to cook. It was coming along perfectly, and I couldn't wait to see her face when she tried it. I went back into the living room where Sookie was sitting on the couch, staring at the remote with a thoughtful expression. I sat next to her, and she seemed to break out of some sort of trance.

"Was there nothing on?" I asked.

"I didn't look. I think we can find something else to occupy our time with," she said, and immediately she was kissing me aggressively. My glasses went askew, so I pulled them off and tossed them on the coffee table. Her hands were up my shirt, caressing the muscles of my back, so I figured it was safe to caress her skin as well. My hands went up the front of her shirt, and slowly made their way to her gorgeous breasts. She moaned into my mouth as I palmed them. They were so big and firm, yet still soft. I found myself wondering what they looked like uncovered, but I didn't think I was quite ready for that yet.

It didn't take long before Sookie was straddling my lap, again being mindful of my erection, and I was beginning to think she liked being the one in control. She certainly enjoyed it when I took control, but she liked having the power as well sometimes. Her hands were around my neck, holding me as close to her as possible, and just as I was about to wrap her legs around my waist and put her under me, the timer for the roast went off.

"Shit," I muttered.

Sookie laughed, "Don't worry we can pick up where we left off after we eat."

"Is that a promise?"

"Oh yes," she said, and to punctuate her point she laid another heated kiss on me before allowing me to get up. I put my glasses back on, and then went to check on the food.

The whole way to the kitchen I was trying to think of things to turn me off, because walking was painful. I finally settled on the image of naked old people playing tennis. It worked. I pulled the roast out of the oven, and it was perfect.

"Is it done?" Sookie's voice came out of nowhere, and I jumped. I hadn't realized that she followed me into the kitchen. "Sorry, I thought you heard me."

"It's okay. My mind was a bit occupied from that kiss," I said, and then leaned down to give her another one. She reciprocated, and I turned to wrap my arms around her. She giggled. "What?" I asked.

"You still have oven mitts on."

"Oh." I laughed. "Stop distracting me."

"Me?" she feigned offence, "You kissed me that time buddy."

"Well you walked in here looking beautiful, that's a distraction all by itself."

She paused for a second and then said, "Okay. I can live with that. You win."

We both laughed, and then Sookie asked what she could do to help.

"You don't have to do anything. I can get it." I had always been taught it was bad manners to make the guests do anything.

"I want to help. I feel useless just sitting there," she said. How was I supposed to resist that pouty expression?

"Alright, can you grab a couple plates out of the cabinet behind you?" She smiled happily and turned to get them, and I finally looked at her butt for the first time all night. It looked phenomenally hot in those jeans. She turned around and caught me staring.

"Were you looking at my butt, Eric?" She smirked.

"Yes," I said. There was no point in hiding it. I was caught and I knew it. I found that I was becoming more and more confident when I was alone with her.

She simply smirked in response, and I realized that she had worn those jeans on purpose. How thoughtful of her. I would have to be equally as thoughtful in the future. Maybe I could conveniently run out of clean sweaters, or accidentally spill something on one in front of her, which would mean I would just have to wear one of my tank tops. She hadn't yet seen my muscles in their full glory, and I knew now that she liked them. I would be very thoughtful indeed.

She handed me the plates, and I loaded them both with carrots, potatoes, and roast. Sookie got us both a glass of tea, and we went into the living room to eat.

"This looks delicious," she said as we sat down.

"It tastes pretty good too," I told her, and then she took a bite. The instant moan that issued from her mouth satisfied me _immensely. _

"Are you _trying_ to make me fall for you?" she asked, and then blushed a bit.

"Wh…What?" I stuttered. Astute, I know.

"Um, I just… I just meant that you're so amazing. You can cook incredible meals, you're a perfect gentleman, an amazing kisser, and you have a remarkable body. I just mean that it's not going to be hard to fall for you."

Out of everything I had thought about when it came to Sookie, falling in love hadn't been one of them. I don't know why I hadn't yet, but it was something I definitely would be thinking about now. I could certainly see myself falling for her too.

I smiled, "It's not going to be hard to fall for you either." We both smiled awkwardly at each other for a few seconds, and when I saw her blush I broke eye contact and started eating.

Sookie made small moans throughout the whole meal, and I don't think she even realized she was doing it. Again, I finished before her, but when she finished his time I didn't kiss her. Instead, I took our plates to the kitchen, and she followed. I began putting up the leftovers, and she began rinsing dishes.

"Do you hand wash, or use the dishwasher?" She asked.

"Normally, I hand wash, but there are better things I'd like to be doing right now, so dishwasher it is." I really couldn't believe that just came out of my mouth in the manner it did. It seemed that the more time I spent alone with Sookie, the more confident and forward I became.

"Okay," she agreed enthusiastically, and began loading the dishwasher. I helped her, and soon the dishwasher was running and we were back on the couch making out.

We started out with her straddling me, like we always had so far, but soon she was under me again. This time we managed to get as far as getting her bra off, but at the feel of her bare breasts beneath my hands for a few minutes, I had to stop. It was torture taking it this slow, but I wanted it to be good when we did it, and that was going to take time. Sookie never pushed me when I stopped, and I was beginning to feel like I was working her up too much. She hadn't been celibate as long as me, and I knew I was arousing her. If it was bothering her, she didn't let it show. She just snuggled up next to me, and I put my arm around her as we watched TV.

After a while, she yawned, and I realized how late it had gotten. "Sookie, would you like me to walk you home?"

"Yeah, that sounds great, I really should be going."

We got up, and headed out the door. As soon as we were in the hall, I picked up her hand. It was something that I loved doing. I had watched her for so long, always wanting to touch her, but never getting to, that now it was all I wanted to do.

"Will I see you again tomorrow?" I asked.

"Of course. How about we just get together to study again? I actually have a paper to finish up."

"Me too, would you like to come over at four? I'd be happy to make you supper again."

"Four is great, but would you like to come to my place for supper? Every Sunday night Amelia, Tray, and I have supper together, and I wondered if you would like to join us."

"I would love to. Should I bring anything?"

"Just yourself. You can come back with me when we finish studying, and hang out with Tray while Amelia and I cook. He usually just watches TV, or plays video games."

"Sounds good." I said, just as we reached the front of her building. She turned to me, and stretched up to kiss me.

"I'll see you at four then," she smiled.

"Okay," I smiled back, and then she turned and went into her building. I walked home happily thinking, "_This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship."_

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***giggles***

**There will be sexual action soon, I promise. This shit takes time. The next chapter will be the Sunday night dinner! Yay!**

**So, tell me, what did you think?**


	11. Nerdvirgin's First BJ

**Okay....who needs a pick-me-up after that latest chapter of CTL? *raises hand* I understand, yes I do. Unfortunately, since I write this shit, it doesn't really do the pick-me-up thing for me. I could really go for an update of The Executive...*winks* Seriously, if you're not reading it(and I know you are) then why are you reading this dribble? Really!**

**Thank you to FDM for having this in my inbox this morning so that I could update before I had to go to work. Boo work! **

**I want to thank Zigs and Annie for thier awesome advice on this chapter. Love you girls!**

**I would also like to dedicate it to DeeMM for her awesome support and for listening to my ideas. You have to read her story Chasing Pavements, it's so good! I'm in love with it.**

**Okay, on with the show...**

**P.S. There's lemon *runs away giggling***

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Chapter 11

I walked into my apartment, thankful that Amelia wasn't home yet. I needed to think about what I said to Eric. I could not believe that I practically admitted that I was falling for him. I was so embarrassed, but then he pretty much said that he felt the same way. I wondered what I was afraid of. I'd never been in love before, and I wouldn't mind being in love so what was my problem?

The more I thought about it, the more I came back to the conclusion that I was afraid of what he would be like after we had sex. It would be easy for Eric to think he loved the woman he lost his virginity to, but afterwards, would he still want me, or would he let his dick lead him to greener pastures? I had enough experience with shitty guys to know that Eric was definitely a catch, but would he feel the same about me? Would he want to experience everything he could with me, but then grow tired of it and want to experience everything he could with someone else? Bill certainly couldn't keep it in his pants for one girl. In fact, the only guy I knew that could was Tray. He and Amelia were each other's firsts, and they were still insatiable for each other.

It had been so easy for Bill to tire of me quickly, so why would Eric be any different? It's possible that Eric was lying about it being easy to fall for me. Was he just saying that to get into my pants faster? Then again, if that were true, then why would he ask me to be his girlfriend? Why would he keep pulling back just when things were getting really hot? Unless it was all an elaborate trick or something, but was Eric really capable of that? Why the fuck was I thinking this way? Why couldn't I let myself be happy?

The more I thought about it, the more irrational I became. Eventually, I ended up crying on the couch, convinced that Eric would end up being just like Bill. I hated that I was being this way, but I couldn't stop. My pity-fest was interrupted by a giggling Amelia and Tray coming through the door. They calmed down immediately when they saw me.

"Sookie, what happened?" Amelia asked as she rushed to my side. I didn't respond, and she hugged me, which just made me cry harder. She held me tighter, and rocked me back and forth for a while, letting me cry it out. Tray was the next person to speak.

He knelt down in front of me, and put his hand lightly on my knee. "Sookie, did he try something with you?"

"No!" I declared fiercely. I couldn't have him thinking that about Eric. "No, he didn't do anything. He was a perfect gentleman. I promise."

Tray looked me in the eyes for what seemed like forever, until he was convinced that I was telling the truth, and then he nodded once, kissed Amelia on the cheek before telling her he'd see her tomorrow, and then he left. I had no doubt that if Tray thought Eric had hurt me; Eric would have gotten an unpleasant visit in a few minutes. Tray had always been protective of me, especially since Bill.

"Sookie, sweetie, please tell me what's wrong. Did you and Eric break up?" She gently asked.

"No, we didn't."

"Then what happened? Why are you crying?"

"I don't know. I can't explain it. Maybe I'm about to start my period."

"Don't blame this on hormones, Sookie. You're crying for a reason. Now start at the beginning."

I took a deep breath, and then I told her everything. I started with the movie, and how sweet he was during it, and then I told her about going back to his place to have the supper he cooked. I told her what I said to him about falling for him easily, and his reaction. I explained how Eric would pull back when he felt we went far enough, and how I was fine with that.

"We watched some TV, and then he walked me home." I finished.

"Then how did you go from being happy after a perfect date, to a sobbing mess on the couch?"

"I started thinking."

"About?"

"Everything. What I said about falling for him was eating away at me, and I realized that I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"I can't fall for a guy, and have what happened with Bill happen again. I don't think Eric is like that now, but what about after we have sex? What if he gets tired of me, and wants to try out some other girls? Don't men have some natural need to plant their seed everywhere?"

"Sookie, I think you're overanalyzing everything. Eric is not Bill."

"He's not Bill now, but what if he…"

"No!" she cut me off, "Sookie, he's not Bill. I hate that what happened with Bill is making you second-guess the best thing that's come your way in a long time. Listen to your gut. Without thinking, tell me, do you trust Eric?"

"Yes."

"Then, right now, that's all you need to know."

"What do you mean, 'right now?'"

"I mean that you have to go with your gut on this. You trust Eric, and he hasn't done anything to lose that trust, so you shouldn't be freaking out right now. Down the line in your relationship, you'll have more to think about, but for now, go with your gut."

She was right. I had no solid reason to be freaking out. I didn't even have a flimsy reason. "Thank you, Amelia," I said as I hugged her, "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Likewise, now go get you some sleep."

I wiped the remnants of my tears away, and got up. "Oh! I invited Eric over for dinner with us tomorrow."

"You did?"

I nodded, "Is that okay?"

"Of course. I'm glad you like him enough to invite him to that."

"I'll be going to his place tomorrow to study, and then he'll come back here with me for dinner. I hope he gets along with Tray." I was a bit worried about that. Tray was an easy-going guy, but if he thought Eric had hurt me, even emotionally, it would make things a bit difficult. Tray didn't forget.

"I'm sure he will, now stop worrying. Go get some sleep."

"I think I'll take a bath first, actually. Goodnight, roomie," I said as I turned go to the bathroom.

"Goodnight," Amelia called after me.

I got into the tub and immediately relaxed into the hot water. As I began to think over my day, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about my kisses with Eric, especially that last make out session on his couch. He had actually gotten my bra undone quite easily, despite his nervousness. I remembered exactly how good it felt to have his hands on the bare skin of my breasts. I had almost come undone when he pinched my nipple slightly, but then he pulled back.

Suddenly something clicked in my brain. I finally realized why I had gone nuts earlier. While I had been mentally satisfied when I got home, my body was far from it. I remembered feeling something nagging at my subconscious, and I had completely misinterpreted it. I thought my mind was telling me something was off about Eric, but it wasn't. It was telling me that something was off with me. I was sexually frustrated. I had the female equivalent of blue balls. This was a problem I wouldn't mind fixing at all.

After solving my problem and double-checking that I had the solution correct…twice, I finished up my bath. I got out and wrapped myself in a towel, and then headed back to my bedroom. I brushed my hair, and got dressed in a pair of boy shorts and a t-shirt, my favorite thing to wear to bed. When I began to pull back the covers I saw it, and whatever was left of my fears and insecurities melted away. There on my pillow, right where I left it was the tulip Eric had brought me. I had laid it on my pillow because I wanted Eric, and his sweet gesture, to be the last thing I thought about before bed. It worked.

I woke up early again the next morning for work. Amelia didn't work Sundays, but I did. What I made working two day shifts, was less than what she made on a Saturday night, but that was okay. I got to see all the old people who came in for breakfast. They were all still totally in love with each other. It was cute, and really brightened my day. I got through my shift like it was nothing again, and headed home with a smile on my face.

When I got there, I took a quick shower, and got dressed. I had about an hour before I had to go to Eric's, so I cleaned a bit. I did some dishes, and made sure we had everything for the stir-fry I was making that night. By the time I finished, it was finally time to head to Eric's, so I grabbed my bag and my laptop, and headed out the door.

I only had to knock once before Eric yanked the door open.

"Hi," he smiled, and stepped back to let me in.

"Hey," I said as I walked past him.

"Can I get you something to drink?" He asked.

"Water would be great."

"Okay, you go on and sit down. I'll be there in a minute." I gave him a kiss before heading into the living room, where I sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, and set up my laptop. Eric came in a minute later with two glasses of water, and set mine next to me, but a safe distance from the computer.

"Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome. What are you working on?"

"It's just an essay on Van Gogh. I'm almost done with it. I just need another paragraph or so, then I need to go over it, and then I'm yours," I finished with a smirk.

"Good, because I finished my work already," he smiled, "When do we need to go back to your place?"

"In a couple hours. I think Amelia and Tray were going out for a bit, but they'll be back by the time we get there."

"Okay, I'll just read a bit while you work then."

I nodded, and then got to work. It only took me about an hour to finish the whole thing. As soon as I was done, I closed my laptop, and packed all my stuff up again. I got up on the couch, and Eric closed his book and set it on the table.

"I found out that the library is opening again tomorrow," he said without any real emotion. I figured he was trying to figure out if I was happy with the news.

"Oh." I said. "I can't say I'm happy about that."

"You're not?"

"No, I really like studying here. Now that I've been here, all comfortable and cozy with you, I don't really want to go back to there. It's stuffy and has other people."

"We don't have to," he said hopefully. "I… I mean not if you don't want too. I would love to have you here every day."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. You would be able to wait in the library for me when it gets too cold, and if we need any books from there, we can get them, and then come back here."

"You are a genius, do you know that?" I said, and then I kissed him.

"You like that idea, I take it." He kissed me back.

"Oh yes, I like it very much."

We didn't talk after that. We had another nice make-out session on his couch, and he didn't have to stop us once. I was pretty sure that meant that I could take things to the next level with him, and I couldn't wait. Unfortunately it was time to go back to my apartment, so I was the one to pull back.

"It's time to go." I told him.

"Alright. Give me a minute, I need to change my sweater," he said as he got up.

"There's nothing wrong with the one you have on."

"This one doesn't keep me as warm outside," he said and went on back to his room. About a minute later I heard him coming up the hall, and when I looked that direction my breath caught in my throat. Eric was wearing a tight black tank top. He was carrying a sweater, which he didn't pull on until he was almost back in the living room, clearly giving me a chance to see him. I almost cried when he covered himself.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked.

"That was so unfair." I said as I stood up.

He smirked. He knew exactly what I was talking about. "Unfair? How so?"

"You can't show me something that appealing right before we leave. Especially not something I would like much more time to explore properly."

He closed the space between us, and put his hands on either side of my face. "You're adorable when you pout."

"I'm not pouting."

"Yes, you are," he said, and then he kissed me. I tried to resist, but resistance was futile. After a couple of minutes of slow kissing, Eric pulled away. "We really should get going."

"I suppose."

He chuckled, kissed me one more time, and then he picked up my bags for me, and we were out the door.

Amelia and Tray were already there, and they were playing video games together. It was quite fun to watch sometimes. When Eric and I walked in they paused the game, and came to greet us.

"Hey! We were beginning to wonder where you were." Amelia said.

"I'm sure you were," I said drolly, and then introduced Eric and Tray, who shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

"Tray, why don't you and Eric go play video games while I help Sookie with supper," Amelia suggested.

Tray and Eric went to do that, but not before Eric planted a kiss on my cheek, causing me to smile and blush. I carried my stuff back to my room, and then met Amelia in the kitchen where she was already getting started.

"So, are you better now?" she asked quietly. Tray and Eric seemed engrossed in their game and were talking, but I whispered anyway. I didn't really want Eric to know about my little meltdown.

"Yes, much better. I have no reason not to trust him, and I realized that I have to let go of what Bill did. It's like a fresh start."

"Good," Amelia said with an air of authority over the situation, causing me to laugh. I glanced in the living room, and saw that both Eric and Tray were still playing the game and talking, but they both had a very serious expression on their faces, and I suspected that it wasn't because of the game.

"Did you tell Tray about last night?"

"Yes, I did."

"Amelia! I think he's giving Eric a talk right now! I didn't want him to know about that!" I chided her as quietly as I could.

"Calm down, Sookie. I had to tell Tray. He was very worried about you, but I'm sure he's not telling Eric anything about it. He's probably just making sure he's a good guy."

"I know he's a good guy, that's all that matters."

"Yes, I know that Sookie, but Tray wanted to feel him out. He wants to make sure he's good enough for you."

"He's not going to scare him, is he?"

"If his intentions are pure, then there's nothing to be scared of," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Okay, but if Tray freaks him out, I'll be pissed."

She laughed, "Just focus on the chicken, and don't overcook it."

"Do I ever?" We both laughed, and finished making supper. Amelia set the table as I put everything in serving dishes, and then went to get the boys. Tray jumped up and practically ran into the kitchen. The boy had an appetite and he could eat.

"Slow down, Tray, there's plenty of food." I called after him, causing Eric to chuckle. I warily looked up at him, worried about what he and Tray had talked about, but he was all smiles.

"The food smells great," he said, and then leaned down to kiss my lips, "and you have very protective friends."

"What did he say to you?"

"Nothing horrible. Don't worry," he assured me. I gave him an unconvinced look. "I promise, it wasn't bad. Let's go eat, I'm starving."

When we got to the kitchen, Tray and Amelia were already filling their plates, so Eric and I took our seats and did the same. Eric really seemed to like my food, which made me really happy. We all talked about movies, video games, sports, and our classes. We laughed and had a great meal together, and it felt right. Eric actually helped Amelia and I clean up, so Tray did too. It got done a lot faster that way, and then we all went to the living room for a movie.

Tray brought 30 Days of Night, and we settled down to watch it. Eric and I had the couch, and Amelia sat on Tray's lap in the recliner. I knew they would end up back in her room about twenty minutes in, so I wasn't too worried about their lack of space. Eric seemed unsure of how close was appropriate in this situation, so I scooted right up next to him, and pulled his arm around me. I felt him relax instantly, and he tightened his grip slightly and kissed my temple.

As I predicted, about twenty minutes in, Amelia and Tray happily excused themselves, and ran back to her room giggling. As soon as they were gone, I began questioning Eric.

"So what did he tell you?"

Eric laughed, "It wasn't bad. He just wanted to know what my intentions were with you, and when I told him I had no intentions of hurting you, he informed me that I would definitely regret it if I did. He's very protective of you."

"I'm sorry you had to listen to that. Tray's like a big brother to me. He saw the aftermath of Bill, and… well, he's just protective."

"I'm glad he is."

"Enough about that, we're in a dark room…alone, and there's a horror movie on."

"Just what are you suggesting, Sookie?"

"I think you know…"

"Maybe I should distract you from the scary movie."

"I'm okay with that," I said, and then he was kissing me. He didn't waste any time getting me under him this time, which pleased me to no end. We made out for a while, and when I felt his erection pressed against me, something clicked again. I gently pushed him off of me, and stood up.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking rather confused.

I took his hand, and pulled him to his feet, "Come with me." I led him back to my room and made him sit on the edge of the bed.

"Sookie, I… I'm not sure…" I put my fingers on his lips.

"It's okay. I can't keep leaving you like this. Every time we make out, I leave you with a hard-on, and that can't be healthy. You haven't had to pull back the last two times, and I think it's time. If you don't want me to, just tell me now."

He didn't speak, and he looked extremely nervous, so I kissed him until he relaxed a bit.

"Are you okay with this?" I asked gently.

He still looked nervous, but he nodded. I began kissing him again, and slowly pulled his sweater off, making sure that the tank top came with it. I think I might have gasped when I saw his top half naked for the first time. He looked like a Greek god. He had rock hard abs, and toned arms and pecs. I was instantly wet, and I knew I would definitely have to relieve myself later. I took the opportunity to run my hands all over him, and used my mouth on his nipples. He really seemed to enjoy light biting. I took my time there, and when he began making light groaning sounds, I undid his jeans, causing him to still instantly.

"Do you want me to stop?" I asked.

"No," he said hoarsely.

I went down to his feet to pull off his shoes, and then he lifted his hips so I could remove his jeans. I kneeled in front of him, and kissed him again. My heart was beating so fast at the thought of what I was about to see and do. I ran my hands down his chest and abs, and then hooked my fingers under the waistband of his boxers. I felt him take a deep breath, and then he lifted his hips again. I pulled them down, and I know I gasped that time. He was huge, much larger than Bill. I was thankful that I didn't possess a gag reflex. I finally tore my eyes away from it to look at him, and he was smirking.

"Don't get cocky." I warned.

"That's kind of hard at the moment," he laughed.

I laughed back, and kissed him again. When I left his lips, I worked my way down his neck and chest, stopping at his nipples for a minute. When I bit them again, I swear I felt him twitch against me. I slowly made my way further down until I was in front of what I desired most at that moment. I looked up at him once more, while slowly massaging his thighs. He looked nervous again, and I knew he was worried.

"You know Eric, it's a compliment to one's skills if the recipient doesn't last long." I smiled up at him.

He smiled back, and while he relaxed I wrapped my hand around him. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. I began to move my hand along his length slowly, causing him to groan. With one last smile to myself, I licked his tip, lapping up the liquid that had pooled there already. I heard him gasp, and then I closed my lips around him and took him into my mouth. He immediately groaned, and I saw his hands grip my comforter tightly. Even though I knew I could deep throat him, I thought I should save that for later. I knew he wouldn't last long as it was, and deep throating him would be a bit much. Instead, I used my hand to stroke what I couldn't fit in my mouth. I used my other hand to gently massage his balls, and his breathing got faster.

"Fuck, Sookie," I heard him mutter.

I removed my mouth, but continued to stroke him as I said his name. His head immediately snapped up, and he looked me in the eyes. "Watch me, Eric."

I swear he twitched in my hand when I said it, and I could see nothing but lust in his eyes. Keeping my eyes on him, I slowly lowered my head to take him in my mouth once again. He did as I asked, and kept his eyes on me the whole time. I added a twist to my strokes, and gripped him just a bit more firmly, as my other hand got a bit rougher with his balls. As I began to suck harder, I saw his stomach tense, and I knew he was about to come.

"Sookie…I'm going to…" He tried to warn me, but I didn't have a single problem with swallowing, so I looked up into his eyes as I moaned around his length. He groaned loudly, and then I felt him throb in my mouth followed by a warm gush of salty liquid, which I swallowed. I continued to stroke him lightly through his orgasm, and when he was finished I released him from my mouth.

His eyes were closed tight from his release, so I slowly rubbed the tops of his thighs until he came back down to earth. His breathing slowly returned to normal, and when he opened his eyes, they were locked with mine. A smile crept across his lips, which caused one of my own, and then we were both laughing. I got up off my knees, and sat next to him on the bed, still laughing. He pulled his boxers back on, and then he kissed me sweetly. We lay back on the pillows where we just held each other for a while, both of us grinning like fools, and breaking into giggles every now and then. Eric's arm was around my shoulders, and mine was across his chest, one of my legs draped across his.

"Thank you, Sookie." Eric said it with such emotion in his voice that I wanted to cry, but I managed to choke out a, "Welcome, Eric." He held me a bit tighter, and kissed my temple, and then we both drifted off to sleep.

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***giggles***

**So how was the nerdvirgin's first BJ? **

**P.S. I actually know a chick with no gag reflex...yes, I do... With as big as we all know the GP is, I figured, why not make things a little easier on her? He can certainly enjoy the benefits too. **


	12. A Friendly Warning and More Firsts

**Yup, I'm updating again so soon! **

**First things first! Have you heard about the Eric and Sookie Summer of '69 Contest? Check it out and participate! There are fuckawesome prizes!!**

**http://www[dot]fanfiction[dot]net/u/2008972/Eric_n_Sooks_Summer_of_69**

**Okay, Meads...Put the tiger away...**

**Okay, okay, here it is! *whispers* It has double shots of lemon...**

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Chapter 12

The morning after our date, I woke up in a really good mood. I went to the gym for a while and swam some laps, and also did a bit of lifting. I was looking forward to having dinner at Sookie's apartment with Amelia and her boyfriend. I wanted to see what she was like around her friends. I could already tell that Amelia was very protective of her, but I wondered if Tray was too.

When I got home, I took a shower, and got dressed. It would still be a few hours before Sookie would come over, so I went ahead and did my homework. I figured that way as soon as she was done we could fill the time with other activities. I had another hour to fill, and I needed more chips, so I took a walk to the store to get them. I was near the campus so I took a slight detour to find out the status on the library. The librarian there told me it would be open again tomorrow, and I found myself sad at the information. I quite liked having Sookie at my apartment everyday. I would have to tell Sookie about it, and see what she thought.

I got back about fifteen minutes before Sookie was supposed to be there, so I was still pacing around when she knocked on the door. I opened it a bit faster than I intended in my excitement, but she seemed happy with my eagerness. She said she only had to finish her essay and go over it, so I read my book while she did her work, and when she finished she sat up on the couch next to me. I told her about the library opening again, and was quite pleased that she looked just as unhappy about the news as I had. In all honesty, it wouldn't be that bad still studying there, because we were still together, but at my apartment we had the couch for when we were done, and there were no uptight librarians to interrupt us.

After we decided to continue our routine of studying at my place, we made out for a while, and I actually didn't have to stop. Sookie was the one to pull back, and that was only because it was time to go. I took the opportunity to change my sweater so that I could show off my muscles a bit. I definitely got the desired effect.

When we finally got to her apartment, she introduced me to Tray. He was almost as tall as me, with a toned build, and hair that matched Amelia's. He had a firm, almost warning grip when we shook hands, as if to say, "Don't mess with me". He and I went to play a video game while Sookie and Amelia fixed supper. As soon as we sat down and started the game (FIFA '09), Tray began questioning me.

"So, how serious is this thing you have with Sookie?" He kept his eyes trained on the screen, and I did the same.

"Quite serious. I really like her."

"You understand that if you hurt her, you'll have to deal with me." He wasn't asking a question, he was stating a fact.

"Yes, but I have no intentions of hurting her. I care for her, and I never want to see her hurt. I understand why you're protective of her after that Bill guy, and I'm glad she's got someone looking out for her."

"She told you about Bill?" He sounded surprised.

"Yes, she did."

"I saw the way she smiled at you. I haven't ever seen her smile that way. She's happy, finally. What happened with Bill…I've never seen that girl so hurt before, and I'll be damned before I see it happen again. She's like a sister to me, and she's been through a lot. Her own brother doesn't give two shits about what's going on with her. Amelia and I…and now you, are all she has. Don't fuck it up."

"I won't," I said with certainty, and I wouldn't.

"Well, then. Welcome to the family," he said happily, as though we hadn't just had the conversation we just did.

"Thank you," I replied, and then we played the game until Sookie came to tell us that supper was ready. She looked a bit wary, so I figured she had seen Tray and I talking. She was a smart woman. I did my best to reassure her that everything was fine, and then we went to eat. The food was phenomenal, and there was lots of it. I assumed that Tray was their own personal garbage disposal with the way he ran to the kitchen, and I found I was right when he went back for a fourth helping.

Tray and I helped the girls clean everything up, and then we all went to the living room to watch a movie. Amelia sat on Tray's lap in the recliner, and I wondered how they would sit there for the whole movie. Sookie and I had the whole couch, but I wasn't sure how close she would want to be to me with her friends right there. She didn't give me time to worry about it, and scooted right up next to me, pulling my arm around her shoulder. I immediately relaxed at having her that close to me, and we comfortably settled in to watch the movie.

Not long into it Tray and Amelia excused themselves, and headed down the hall. I assumed this was normal, because Sookie just rolled her eyes slightly and chuckled. As soon as they were gone, she began questioning me about my conversation with Tray. I explained what happened, and Sookie alluded to the same thing Tray had about the aftermath of her relationship with Bill. I wondered how bad it really had been. Before I could question her, she got a bit suggestive, and I was perfectly willing to forget about the past so I could focus on the here and now. We ended up making out for a while, and again, she was the one to push me off. I asked what she was doing, hoping she didn't want me to leave as it was barely nine o'clock. Instead of telling me to go home, she took my hand and led me down the hall. I grew more and more nervous with every step when I figured out where she was taking me. She took me into her room, shut the door behind us, and then had me sit on the edge of the bed. Of course the first thing that popped into my head was that she wanted to have sex.

"Sookie, I… I'm not sure…" she quieted me with her fingers on my lips, and then began to explain. I realized what she wanted to do, and I was speechless. I was obviously nervous as hell, never having experienced that kind of intimacy, but she was really good a calming me down. She kissed me gently, and made sure I was okay with it before she continued. She took her time pulling off my clothes and touching my body everywhere she could reach. Her mouth did wonderful things to my nipples, and I discovered that I liked having them bitten. I was lost in the new sensations, but when her hands began to work on my jeans, I stiffened.

"Do you want me to stop?" she asked.

"No," I replied immediately, surprising myself.

She moved down to pull off my shoes, and then she removed my jeans. She stopped to kiss me again, trying to calm me, and then she removed my boxers. Any fears or insecurities I had about her seeing me naked were squashed when she gasped. I knew that was a good gasp when I saw her eyes widen at the sight of my extremely hard cock. I figured I was bigger than normal, but I never made a habit out of looking in public restrooms. The look in her eyes confirmed it, and that just made me…well, cocky. When she finally tore her eyes from it, she saw my smirk.

"Don't get cocky."

"That's kind of hard at the moment," I laughed, and she laughed right back. She got back on her knees, and kissed me again. Her body was rubbing against me as she kissed her way down my chest, and the sensations together felt amazing. When she finally got all the way down, I was really nervous again. I was afraid that I would come too soon. I was worried that I would do something wrong. I was simply nervous. She saw it all, and tried to reassure me with some line about it being a compliment if the receiver didn't last long, which did relax me a bit. As soon as I did though, she wrapped her small hand around me. She had barely done anything, and I already had my eyes closed. It just felt so amazing.

She began to stroke me slowly, and then I felt her hot tongue on my tip, causing me to gasp. I had never felt anything that good in my life. That is, until I felt something even better two seconds later when she wrapped her lips around me, and took me into her mouth. Her mouth was very hot and wet, and I immediately tried to keep myself from coming then and there. I would not be a sixty-second man. Her hand stroked what she couldn't fit in her mouth, and her other hand gently massaged my balls. I may have cursed out loud, I can't be sure, but when she pulled her mouth off of me and said my name, my head immediately snapped up so I could look her in the eyes.

"Watch me, Eric."

I had to use a lot of self-control not to come at that moment. I did as she asked, and we locked eyes as she lowered her head to take me into her hot mouth again. I watched as she stroked, licked, fondled, and sucked me, and soon I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold it in any longer. I assumed it would be the gentlemanly thing to warn her, because it would be rude to just do that in her mouth wouldn't it? When I tried to, however, she simply looked up and moaned around my length. The vibration it caused immediately pushed me over the edge, and I exploded into her mouth as my orgasm ripped through me from head to toe. I had never come that hard in my life, and I was on cloud nine somewhere in a distant universe when I was slowly brought back to earth by the gentle sensations of Sookie rubbing my thighs.

When I opened my eyes, I found them already trained on her, and I smiled. She smiled back, and then we were both laughing. All I could think about was how happy I was. The most beautiful woman inside and out, that I had ever seen, had just given me my first blowjob. She got up and sat beside me still fully clothed, so I pulled my boxers back on. I kissed her gently; silently thanking her for the gift she had just given me. We lay back on the pillows, my arm around her shoulders, and her arm across my chest, and her leg draped over mine. We would both start laughing out of nowhere as we came down from the high of what just happened. It suddenly hit me how intimate what we just did was, and I realized how much I had needed it. I thanked her out loud then, and she responded with an emotion-filled, "Welcome, Eric." I was happy that she seemed as affected as me. I held her a bit tighter, and kissed her temple, and then we both fell asleep.

I woke up about an hour later feeling better than I had in a long time. Sookie was still tucked into my side and sleeping soundly. I listened to the sound of her breathing for a while, and then my mind began to replay our intimate event over and over again. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face as I thought about it. She began to stir next to me, and then I felt her take a deep breath.

"You smell amazing," she said.

"You don't smell half bad yourself," I replied.

She sat up and stretched her arms above her head, revealing just a bit of skin at her torso, and raising her breasts in the most appealing way. As soon as she lowered her arms, I sat up and kissed her. She kissed me back, and wrapped her arms around my neck as I slowly lowered her back to the bed. When I rolled her under me she moaned, and that single moan made something click in my brain. I immediately felt like an inconsiderate prick. She had given me my first mind-blowing blowjob, and I hadn't reciprocated at all. I probably had her wound up tighter than a Timex watch. Sookie, being the intuitive person that she was, could tell something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry," I said as I kissed her neck, "you were so great with me, and it was so perfect."

"Then why are you apologizing," she laughed.

I balanced myself on my hands, and looked into her eyes, "Because I never gave back. I should have done that immediately."

"Oh," she said in a small voice that was almost a whisper, but I saw the lust in her eyes.

"Will you let me make it up to you?"

She didn't say anything; she simply nodded. I kissed her mouth again slowly, and then we both sat up a bit to pull off her shirt. I kissed her again, and reached my hand around to undo her bra. I didn't understand why guys talked about never being able to undo a bra. It wasn't that complicated. I looked into her eyes as I slipped the straps off her shoulders, and tossed the bra off to the side. I laid her back down as I kissed my way down to her breasts, and my breath hitched in my throat when I saw them naked for the first time.

"So beautiful," I muttered before teasing them with my mouth. She gasped when I did, and began to moan. Her hands went to my hair, and pressed me closer, causing me to realize that my glasses might be a problem. I pulled them off, and set them on her bedside table, and then went back to work. I paid a lot of attention to her sensitive nipples, learning that she liked some light biting as well, and then kissed my way down her stomach. My hands undid her jeans, and then I moved down to pull off her shoes and jeans like she did mine. I kissed my way slowly up her beautiful, shapely legs, and then I pulled her underwear off.

She was finally naked in front of me, and I realized that I was the luckiest guy in the world. Everything about her body was beautiful, and I wondered how I would ever find another woman attractive. She had definitely ruined me for other women. When I looked at her face, I saw that she was darting her eyes around the room, refusing to meet my gaze. I realized that when it came to this, it didn't matter if she was more experienced than me. She was still insecure about some things. I got back on top of her, and kissed her with as much passion as I could muster.

"You are so beautiful, Sookie," I whispered in her ear, "So beautiful." When I looked back in her eyes, they were filled with lust again, and a hint of something else that I didn't want to think about at the moment. "Will you promise me something?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Don't fake anything. I want to do this right, and I want to know that I'm really pleasing you. This is all about you and I want you to tell me if I'm doing something wrong, okay?"

"Okay," she smiled. I meant every word of it. I had read a lot about how to do this, and I knew a lot of different things I could do, but knowing and doing are two completely different things. Knowing that she wouldn't fake anything actually helped a lot. I had always been willing to learn, and I looked at this as a lesson, a lesson with a really nice reward.

I kissed her lips again, and then slowly worked my way down her body, leaving a trail of wet kisses behind me. When I finally reached her mound, I was amazed by how much heat was coming from her. I tentatively took one long lick up her slit, which elicited a gasp from her. She was already very wet, and she tasted so sweet. I think I almost growled. There was a rumble in my chest, that's for sure.

"So good," I muttered. I slowly licked her again, and her hands came down to rest on either side of my head. She applied a bit of pressure, and I quickly realized that she was sort of guiding me. In turn, I used more pressure with my tongue, and began to tease her entrance with it.

"Oh, Eric," she moaned. With every pant and moan that issued from her, I grew more and more confident. I had read that some women are a bit sensitive when it comes to clitoral stimulation so I held off on that for a while. When I decided to go for it, I used my tongue, and lightly licked it. She groaned and thrust her hips up a bit. I applied a bit more pressure, and she cried out my name. I closed my lips around it and sucked slightly, causing her to shout a few expletives. At that point I may have gotten a bit big for my britches, but I wanted to blow her mind. I pulled my mouth away from her, and she immediately propped up on her elbows, to give me a look that said, "Why the fuck are you stopping?" I was pleased to see that she was sweating and flushed.

"I want to try something, if that's okay with you," I said huskily. She nodded enthusiastically. "Just tell me if you want me to stop."

"Okay," she replied with a hoarse sounding voice.

I went back to business then, and worked on her clit once more. As I did, my finger teased her entrance, and then I slowly pushed it in. She moaned loudly as I slid it in and out of her slowly. She was getting even wetter, so I went for it. I curled my finger upward, and massaged in small circles. I didn't get a response, or feel what I was looking for, so I repositioned and tried again with the same results. When I tried the third time, she bucked her hips, and shouted out, "Fuck, Eric!" I had found it. I felt like I wanted to do a touchdown dance or something. It was another score for the nerds. I kept working diligently on that spot until Sookie was trembling, and then I closed my lips around her clit once more, and sucked in time with the movements of my finger.

It only took a few seconds before Sookie was screaming expletives and my name loudly as she contracted around my finger, and a warm gush of liquid issued from her. I greedily licked up every last bit of it, and then kissed my way up her body and rested beside her. Her eyes were glazed over, and I realized that she was still off in some other universe. I had done my job well, and I couldn't have been happier. As I waited for her to come back down to earth, my hand absentmindedly stroked her stomach and sides. Her breathing slowly returned to normal, and she finally looked at me.

"Did I do okay?" I asked.

She didn't answer with words; instead she kissed me hard. Her hands were in my hair, her tongue in my mouth. When she finally pulled away we were both breathless.

"I'll take that as a yes," I smiled.

"I thought I was supposed to be giving you firsts, not the other way around."

"You mean…"

"Yup, I don't think he believes the G-spot even exists, and he certainly never tried to look for it."

"Wow. I'm glad I was able to give you a first then."

She sat up and looked at me, "Eric, I have a feeling you and I are going to experience many firsts together."

"I'm very happy about that." I smiled, and then pulled her down to snuggle in next to me.

"Hold on," she said, and then climbed out of bed. She looked around on the floor for a second, and then she picked something up, and put it on. It was my sweater, and fuck me, she looked like sex in it. She pulled back the covers partially, and I got under them with her. We held each other much like before, only it felt even more intimate this time. I ran my fingers through her hair, and she drew circles on my chest with her finger as we talked, and then we drifted off to sleep again, both of us extremely satisfied.

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***giggles* **

**Thank you so much to FDM for her help with this chapter as well as her quick betaing skills! Love ya! **

**So, what did you think? I think our boy's a freaking natural, that's what I think. *giggles***


	13. He's Big, Okay?

**Hello! I want to thank everyone for the great response this story is getting! All the reviews and alert adds are so awesome. You don't even know how happy I get when I get reviews. Each one is like a little present with my name on it. *giggles* **

**Anyhoo, this is a bit of a transition chapter so that I can get into the plot I've been working on...Thank you to DeeMM and FDM!! *smooches***

**Big thanks to FDM for helping me make scents of this chapter *snort* I swear, she'll get that. **

**On with the show...**

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Chapter 13

The next morning I was woken up when I heard Eric quietly saying my name, and felt him softly kiss the tip of my nose. My eyes fluttered open and I smiled.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"About seven. I know it's early, but I have a class in a couple hours, so I should get home and shower."

"Oh, I guess so. I should probably give you your sweater back, huh?" I said, and then got out of bed so I could pull it off. I handed it to him, and then walked to my door to grab my robe to put on. When I turned to look at Eric, I saw that he was practically drooling.

"You are even more beautiful in the daytime," he told me huskily.

"Right back at ya," I said, and then gave him a kiss.

He got dressed, put on his shoes and glasses, and then I walked him to the door. Amelia was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee, grinning at us both. Amelia never grinned in the morning.

"I'll see you at the library later, right?" he asked.

"Yes, I'll probably be inside. I have a book I need to get."

"Okay," he smiled, "I'll see you then."

He bent to kiss me, and then he nodded at Amelia and left. I closed the door behind him, and then leaned up against it. I could feel Amelia's eyes on me, but I couldn't talk yet. I had just shared a perfect night with an amazing guy, and we hadn't even had actual sex.

"Sookie, get over here and talk to me. I know that deep down you're itching to talk about it, and it's no secret that I'm dying to know, so just spill."

"Coffee," I said, and went to make a cup. I returned to the couch with a big smile on my face.

"Okay, start with what happened after Tray and I…retired for the evening." Amelia didn't waste any time.

"You mean when you two went to your room to have sex all night?"

"Yes, that, now speak."

"We made out for a while, and then I took him back to my room where I gave him a blowjob." I was surprised by how unashamed I was with the whole thing.

"Oh my god! How was it? Did he like it?"

"It was great, and I think he liked it very much. He didn't last long, but it was still longer than I expected."

"What happened after that?"

"We fell asleep."

"Bullshit! I heard you screaming in ecstasy, and it sure as hell wasn't from you giving him a blowjob."

"How much did you hear?" I was a little embarrassed that they had heard me, but I had to listen to them all the time, so I suppose it was only fair.

"Quite a few curse words, a fuckton of moaning, and you screamed his name a few times. I want to know what happened. I thought he was a virgin. Virgins aren't supposed to know how to make a woman scream like that."

"Well, we only slept for about an hour, and when we woke up he insisted on returning the favor. He was even mad at himself for not doing it immediately. It was really cute."

"I'm glad he's a giver. Now, tell me, what did he do to make you scream like that? You didn't fake it, did you? That's not going to help him any..."

"No, I didn't fake it. He actually asked me not to. He wanted to make sure he was doing it right, and even asked me to stop him if he was doing anything wrong."

"Aww, he's so considerate! I really like him."

I laughed. Amelia was so easy to please. "He did a great job at making me feel comfortable naked, and he took his time. It was so sensual. When he finally started, I think he actually growled."

"Tray does that all the time. It's so freaking hot. I completely understand. Continue."

"He took his time there too, and he let me guide him a bit. Then he pulled back and told me he wanted to try something, and I told him it was okay."

"What did he do?"

"This was about the time you heard me shouting. Amelia, he found my G-spot."

"What?! How? It took Tray forever to find mine!"

"I asked him about that before we fell asleep the second time, and he said he reads a lot. He wanted to make sure I enjoyed myself, so he wanted to find it. He certainly found it all right. I swear I was in another dimension for a while."

"Yeah, that happens. I can't believe you're lucky enough to find a virgin who finds the G-spot on his first time giving head. I mean, seriously. My mind is boggled right now. I haven't had enough coffee for this information."

I laughed at her again. I couldn't help it. I was in a very good mood. "I'm not going to think about it that much. I'm very lucky, and that's all that matters. I'm also very happy."

She reached out to grab my hand, and gave it a squeeze. "I know you're happy, and that is all that matters. Hold on to it, okay?"

I nodded and got up, not really wanting to think about the reason she was talking like she was, "I'm going to take a shower. I've got a class soon."

"Wait! You left out one very important detail."

"What?"

"How big is he?"

"Amelia! Have I ever asked you how big Tray is?"

She just shot me a look and used her hands to show me his length and girth. "Your turn."

I did the same thing with my hands, and felt myself blush as I saw hers eyes widen.

"Oh my god! Let's hope he treats that like the weapon it is and handles with care."

I rolled my eyes and gave a short laugh, "May I go take a shower now?"

"Yes, you may. I know everything I need to for now."

I took my shower, and as I washed my body, all I could think about was whether or not Eric was taking a shower at the exact same moment, and if he was thinking about me as much as I was him. After my shower, I stood in my bedroom trying to decide what to wear when I found that I couldn't stop smiling. I flopped down on my bed, and immediately smelled Eric. I picked up the pillow he had used and inhaled. It crossed my mind how creepy that seemed, but it just smelled so good. Sleeping in his sweater all night was heaven. It was like being encased in his scent. I sort of hoped some of mine rubbed off on it as well.

When I finally tore myself out of bed, and away from his intoxicating smell, I found that I only had about fifteen minutes to get ready. I quickly threw on a bra and underwear set, a pair of jeans, and a long-sleeved sweatshirt. I threw my hair up into a ponytail, put on my shoes, and then I was out the door.

My entire day flew by, and I concluded that it was probably the best Monday I had ever had. Memories of the previous night filled my head all day, and I couldn't stop smiling. I went to the library at the same time I used to, and started looking for the book I needed. I cursed my height when I found that it was on the top shelf. I stood on my toes and stretched as hard as I could, but my fingertips barely brushed it. Suddenly, I was surrounded by the smell of clean linen and soap. I breathed it in, and it was quickly becoming my favorite smell.

"You're just in the nick of time," I said, without turning around.

"Which one is it?" he asked somewhere near my ear, in a husky voice that gave me goose bumps. I pointed to it, and saw his big, talented hand reach up and easily pull it down for me. He was still standing behind me as he held it in front of me to take. I didn't. Instead, I turned around to face him, and quickly pulled him into a searing kiss. Somehow, it was the best one yet.

"Did you miss me?" he asked with a smirk when I finally released him.

"Very much," I replied.

"Good, because I missed you too."

"Well then, let's go spend some time together." I took his hand, and we went to check out my book.

As we walked to his apartment, we talked about our plans for the week, and I invited him over for dinner again on Sunday.

"You realize you have to come over every Sunday now, right?" I laughed.

"Yes, I'm part of the family now. Tray said so," he chuckled.

When we got to his apartment, we took our places on the couch to get some work done, and I cursed when I realized I had completely forgotten my soda. I had been so preoccupied with everything Eric; I hadn't had one in a couple days. It was my only addiction.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot my soda. I haven't had one in a while. Would you mind if I ran over to my apartment to get one real quick?"

"No need," he said with a brilliant smile, and went to his kitchen. He came back with a bottle of Sunkist orange soda and handed it to me. "I had to go to the store for more chips yesterday, and I got some of your soda to keep here. I hope you don't mind."

I was speechless. It was so sweet of him to do that, and I hadn't expected it at all. "Thank you, Eric, but you really didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to."

I had to give him a kiss when he said that. I couldn't help it. No man that cared for me in the romantic sense had ever done something like this just because he wanted to. He was turning out to be the perfect guy.

"Thank you." I smiled brightly at him.

We finally settled in to get some work done, and a couple hours later, we both finished and snuggled up on his couch together watching some Cash Cab. I loved how comfortable it was. Even though we had broken some ground with our sexual relationship, I didn't feel any pressure at all from him to do that again. He was just as happy to be sitting on the couch watching TV with me, and I felt the same.

After watching an episode, Eric spoke up. "Would you like to stay for supper or did you have to cook for Amelia tonight?"

"I'm sure she can warm up some leftovers. That's usually what she does on Monday nights anyway."

"Great, because I'm making fettuccine alfredo, and it's delicious."

"Seriously?" I asked. He nodded with a huge smile. "Well let's get cracking, because I'm starving all of a sudden."

He laughed, and led me to the kitchen where he pulled out everything we'd need. We worked side by side with ease, and soon enough we were sitting down, and eating the best fettuccine alfredo I'd ever had. As soon as we were done, Eric was setting his glasses aside, and then he was all over me. I noticed that he seemed to want me a lot after a meal, and I briefly wondered why that was. I'd have to pay more attention to myself the next time we ate together to see if I could figure it out.

I wasn't careful with my movements this time, and he really got into it. Soon I had Eric's sweater off, and mine was on the floor as well. He was making quick work of getting my bra off too, and then it was mingling with our tops on the floor. His mouth was all over me, as though he couldn't get enough.

"I want to taste you again, Sookie," he said breathlessly as his hands opened my jeans. I could only moan in response. My jeans were off in no time, and I found that Eric really liked the way I looked in my lacy underwear when I faintly heard him growl again. He pulled them off slowly, and took his time kissing up my legs, completely bypassing my center to kiss a trail all the way up to my lips.

"You are really good at this," I told him.

He simply smirked, and began kissing his way back down my body. I was propped up against the arm of the couch, so I was watching him intently. Our gazes locked, and he gave me a devilish smirk, before his head dipped between my thighs. It felt so amazing. He seemed even more skilled than the night before, if that was possible. He must have been doing more reading. Eric had me coming in no time, and I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

I mean, seriously. Who is lucky enough to find a man that is extremely attractive, can cook like his life depended on it, is considerate, kind, sweet, and on top of all that he doesn't have a sexual history, yet manages to be a sex god? I felt like Amelia from this morning. My mind was boggled.

By the time Eric had kissed his way back up my body, I had decided what I was going to do. The man had found my G-spot on his first try, by god; I was going to deep throat him. I immediately pushed him, so that his back was against the other arm, and then I was kissing him. I tasted myself on his mouth, and it only turned me on more. As soon as I had his jeans open, I pulled him out and began stroking as I kissed my way down his chest, stopping briefly to pay some attention to his nipples. I took it slow at first, and did it much the same way I had the first time, but when he began to thrust his hips up because he was close, I went for it. I put my hands on either side of his hips to hold him still, and then relaxed my throat to slowly take him all the way into my mouth, and down my throat. I moaned around him as soon as he was all the way in, and he came almost instantly. His hands were in my hair as he shouted, "Fuck, Sookie! Oh my god, fuck!" over and over again. I swallowed everything he had to offer, and then slowly released him from my mouth.

His head was resting on the arm of the couch, and he was still breathing raggedly. I giggled a bit. He was completely out of it. I pulled my disheveled hair out of its ponytail, and ran my fingers through it a bit. I also grabbed his sweater and pulled it on, hoping he wouldn't find it weird if I did that too much. I snuggled up next to him on the couch until he came back to himself, and when he did he hugged me to him.

"How in the hell were you able to do that?" he asked.

"No gag reflex."

"I never thought I would find those words so hot," he laughed. "You look really great in my sweater, by the way."

"Oh, you don't mind do you? It just smells so good, and it's practically a minidress on me."

"I don't mind at all. I think it's sexy, and your scent rubs off on it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I smelled you the whole way home this morning. I was in heaven."

"My bed still smelled like you after you left."

"Is that bad?"

"Not at all. I rather liked it."

We talked for about another hour before I left, reluctantly giving Eric back his sweater. He walked me back to my building, and kissed me goodnight before I went in. Amelia was already in bed, so I got everything turned off, and headed to bed as well. As soon as I snuggled in under the covers I noticed that Eric's scent still clung slightly to the bedspread and pillows. I breathed it in, and fell into a deep, comfortable sleep, probably with a contented smile on my face.

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**I have to work tomorrow, and I have a thing on Saturday, but I'll do my best to get some more writing done. For those of you who read What Dreams May Come, I promise you I'm not abandoning that story. It's not even really on the backburner, I've just been lazy, working, and preoccupied with the nerdvirgin. I'll update it as soon as possible! I love you guys! *group hugs***

**So...let me know what you thought! **


	14. Thanksgiving Confessions

**Hello! Aren't we lucky tonight?! House of Flesh on Fire updated! SQUEE! It was so hot! If you haven't read it yet, do it now! Ppppffffbbbttt.... Who am I kidding? You all are on that shit. **

**I want to thank all my readers and reviewers once again! You guys rock! I love reading and answering reviews, it's so fun!**

**Thank you to FDM for your help with this chapter! I made some minor changes, so any mistakes left are all mine! **

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Chapter 14

It was finally Thanksgiving. I had been looking forward to it for some time. Sookie was going to stay with me during the break. She and Amelia didn't want to go back to their hometown for the holiday, and Tray preferred to stay as well, so we came up with a nice arrangement. Tray would stay at Sookie and Amelia's apartment during the break, and to give them privacy, Sookie would stay with me. I was very happy to be able to spend even more time with her, and was looking forward to going to sleep with her next to me every night.

The last couple of weeks had been really great. We had quickly established a routine together. We would meet up at the library, sometimes staying to get some work done, and then go back to my apartment where we would watch TV, talk, have supper, make out, and sometimes go a little further than that. We hadn't gone beyond going down on each other, except for a couple of instances of mutual masturbation, which was really, really hot. I almost liked it better than the blowjobs…almost. Her ability to deep throat definitely tipped the scales in favor of the blowjobs. I was shocked when she first did it. I had no idea how she managed to fit all of me into her tiny mouth, but she did, and it felt incredible.

I also discovered that she had figured out how turned on I got by her eating. Her moans and little noises of satisfaction had gotten louder, and she seemed more aware of them. When I saw a smirk on her face, I knew she had it figured out. She used it to her advantage as well, because on the nights that she was feeling particularly frisky, she would really put on a show for me. Those were the nights I made sure she called my name loudly. I always got something out of it too, of course.

What I was even more excited about was that I finally felt like I was ready to have sex. I was confident that I could please Sookie, even though I knew I wouldn't last long. It also just felt like it was time. I hadn't told her yet, but I planned on it. We had a full week off school, and I had a feeling I was going to want to do it more than once, so the timing was perfect. I just really hoped she was receptive to it. She hadn't pushed me at all, but I had a feeling that she was ready for more.

The plan was to spend the whole day at Sookie and Amelia's apartment, where we could all hang out until we had Thanksgiving dinner that night. Sookie wanted to take care of the cooking, but I insisted on helping her. She and I were the only ones who had the ability to not burn something within five minutes, and I didn't want her to cook everything by herself. I took a quick shower, and dressed in a nice sweater and a pair of jeans, and then I headed to the next building over.

Tray answered the door, and we shook hands. "How you doing, man?" he greeted, and then yelled, "Sookie, your man's here."

"I'm fine, Tray, and you?" I laughed.

"I'm hungry, but Sookie keeps slapping my hand when I go for a taste."

Sookie came into the room, and quickly wrapped her arms around me. Tray immediately tried to head for the kitchen, so Sookie yelled at him.

"Tray, keep your damn hands in your pockets! You can eat in a little bit."

Tray sulked back into the living room, and Sookie looked at me expectantly. I bent my head to kiss her, and then she said, "Hi."

"Hi," I said back. "What do you need me to do?"

"You can help me with the noodles," she said with a smile, and then took me by the hand into the kitchen. It smelled mouthwatering in there, and I could see why this would be a problem for Tray. I pushed up my sleeves, and Sookie put on an apron to protect her dress, and we got to work. Amelia came out later, and made a comment about us having everything under control and not needing her help, then she joined Tray in the living room to watch TV. Sookie heard Tray whining again, so she finally pulled out some cheese, summer sausage, and crackers, and took them to the living room. I heard Tray yell, "Food!" and then Sookie came back in the kitchen.

Everything was more or less prepared, and just needed to heat up, so Sookie began double-checking that we had everything we needed.

"Shoot!" she exclaimed.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I forgot the whipped cream for the pie. You can't have pumpkin pie without whipped cream." She was getting flustered.

"Don't worry, I'll run to the market and get some. It's still open for another hour or so. I'll even take Tray with me before he eats all the appetizers."

"Really? Oh, thank you!" She hugged me, and then I gave her kiss.

I managed to pry Tray from the platter of crackers, and we headed out. Tray had a car, but the market was within walking distance, and I wanted to ask him something, so I convinced him to walk. He couldn't stop talking about being hungry almost the whole way there.

"I'm telling you, Eric, it's all the sex Amelia and I have. It burns the calories like crazy. I eat all the time, but I never gain any weight."

"You don't work out?"

"I do that too, but not enough to lose anything. I just lift weights to stay toned. Amelia likes the muscles."

"Yeah, Sookie seems to like mine too." I felt a bit uncomfortable talking to another guy about what Sookie liked, but it was Tray. I knew he didn't feel that way about her, but I would have to be careful because I'm sure he saw her as a sister, and I didn't want to say anything that would piss him off.

"You know, she's very happy with you. I don't think I've ever seen her smile this much."

"Can I ask you a question, Tray?" I finally had the opportunity to ask what I wanted. This had been rolling around in my head for a while, and I felt like I needed to know.

"Sure."

"You and Sookie have both alluded to something bad after Bill, and I want to know how bad it really was. All I know is what she told me."

"How much did she tell you?"

"That she and Bill dated, and he pressured her for sex a lot. She said he openly flirted with other women in her presence, and that he set it up for her to catch him cheating so that she would break up with him."

"There was a bit more to it than that. It's sort of a long story."

"We've got time. I would ask Sookie, but if it's as bad as I think, I don't want her to have to think about it."

"You're right, you should probably know anyway, but I'm only telling you because I trust you."

I nodded that I understood.

"Sookie's parents died in a car accident just before our junior year. She had a really hard time with it. Her brother took off when the life insurance came in, and she still doesn't hear from him that often. When we went back to school, Bill took an instant liking to her. I never liked the guy. He slept around a lot, and he didn't treat girls well, but Sookie had always had a crush on him, and she had a void to fill. So when Bill started paying attention to her she was smitten, and trying to forget about everything else going on in her life. She couldn't see that he was using her. Amelia and I tried to be supportive of her, but it was hard…" he trailed off.

"Why was it hard?"

"Bill was very emotionally abusive to Sookie. She refused to see it. He made her feel worthless all the time. She was always second-guessing herself. He really pushed her into sex too. It was just bad. He flirted with other girls in front of her, and acted like it was nothing. When she caught him with another girl, it really broke her. She hadn't dealt with her parent's deaths yet. She had a ton of resentment for Jason. She was very depressed for a while. She stopped eating, stopped caring…" His voice trailed off again and his expression turned very grim as he remembered. "Amelia and I had to put her back together. It was slow going, and pretty painful for us all, but we did it. You have no idea how much you've helped her. She's more and more like the old Sookie all the time."

I let all of what he said sink in. I was feeling pretty pissed at Bill again. I wanted to kill him for abusing Sookie, and for taking advantage of her like he had. I was also incredibly sad. I just couldn't picture my fun, loving, caring, and kind Sookie ever being that depressed, nor did I want too. We finally grabbed the whipped cream, which we had been standing in front of for five minutes, and paid for it. I was quiet the whole way back to the apartment. I couldn't stop thinking about what Tray had told me.

As soon as we got back, I made a beeline for Sookie. I pulled her to me, one hand on her waist, one on the back of her neck. I kissed her. I kissed her with more passion and heat than I ever had before. She responded in kind until Amelia told us to get a room. We broke away from each other with goofy smiles on our faces.

"What was that for?" she whispered.

"Just because," I whispered back.

She smiled up at me, and it reached her eyes. I loved it when she smiled like that. Knowing that she probably hadn't smiled like that in a long time made me sad, but I was happy that I was the reason she was doing it again. She asked me for help with the turkey, and about a half hour later we were all sitting down at the table eating a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. We all ate until we were full, especially Tray, and then Sookie and I packed up some leftovers to take with us back to my apartment. We all pitched in to help clean up, and soon enough it was time to leave.

Sookie went to her room to get her bags. She was staying with me for four nights. I grabbed the food we were taking as Sookie hugged Amelia and Tray. I shook Tray's hand and Amelia gave me a quick hug, we all said our goodbyes, and then Sookie and I were out the door. When we got to my apartment, I stopped to put the leftovers in the refrigerator, and then helped Sookie take her bags to my room. She hadn't been in there before, and she really seemed to like it.

"You have a very big bed, Eric," she said as she sat down on it.

"What can I say, I'm a big guy," I replied as I pulled off my sweater, "So what would you like to do? We can watch a movie if you want, or would you rather go to bed? You look exhausted."

"Bed sounds nice. I am pretty tired. I got up early to start cooking."

"You did make an awful lot of food."

"I wanted there to be enough for Tray and Amelia to eat on after I left. I don't want them eating fast food the whole time I'm gone."

"Tray will have it all gone by tomorrow night," I laughed.

She joined me, "You're probably right."

She bent to take off her shoes, and I did the same. Then I took both pairs over to the corner where I kept all my shoes while Sookie rummaged through her bag.

"Eric, can you help me with my zipper?" She asked and turned her back to me, sweeping her hair aside with her hand. I kindly obliged, giving her one kiss on the base of her neck as I did so. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome."

I thought she might want to go to the bathroom to change, but she didn't. She let her dress fall into a pool of fabric around her feet, and then she stepped out of it. She was wearing a matching black lace bra and panty set, that made me want to throw her onto the bed and have my way with her. Unfortunately we were both tired, and so full that if we did anything fast we'd probably throw up. I quickly turned around and tried to focus on getting dressed myself. I pulled off my jeans, and put on my flannel pajama bottoms, and then pulled on my long-sleeved button up top. Only after I had it on did I realize how nerdy I probably looked. I had a feeling that Sookie wouldn't care though. When I finally turned back around, I saw that she was pulling on a T-shirt. She had on boy short underwear too, and I was wondering when she was going to put on some pajama pants, but she never did. She simply folded up her dirty clothes, and put them in her bag, and them turned around with her bathroom bag in hand.

"What?" She asked.

I was staring. "Oh, nothing. Aren't you cold in that?"

"No, this is what I always wear to bed. Do you want me to put on something else? I think I have some sweatpants in my bag."

She was purely trying to make me comfortable, and it made me smile. "No, what you have on is fine. I'm just feeling a bit like a nerd now," I said, gesturing to my clothes.

"You don't look like a nerd, and I happen to like flannel. I'm sure you'll feel great to snuggle up to," she smiled. "I'm going to use the bathroom."

"Okay," I said as she walked past me and into the bathroom across the hall. I went out to make sure the door was locked, and everything turned off. I heard Sookie come out of the bathroom and go back into the bedroom, so I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth.

When I got back to my room, Sookie was already under the covers on the right side. I smiled, because I like the left. I climbed in next to her, but sat up against the headboard.

"I need to tell you something." I had decided on the way back from the market to tell her.

She sat up with a concerned look on her face, "What is it?"

"You know I live off an inheritance, but I never told you who it was from."

She stayed silent, but nodded to let me know she was listening.

"I got it from my aunt Sophie. She was my father's sister, and she was always very fond of me. My parents wanted me to be lawyer, but literature was my passion, so my aunt encouraged me to pursue it. She was always buying me books, and taking me to plays. When she got sick, she didn't tell anyone, not even me. I suspect it was because she knew that if the family knew, she would have all sorts of family members sucking up to her to be put in her will. Most of what she had, she got when her husband died. She owned a lot of property, and lived quite comfortably. When it got to the point that we would have noticed that she was sick, she went back to Sweden for a vacation. She went there to die. I should have known. She cried when she told me goodbye, and once again encouraged me to do what made me happy. A couple months later we got the news that she had passed, and I was shocked. Her lawyer came to pay me a visit about a week after that. She left everything to me. All of her property, her money, and her possessions. All of it is mine. I own a house here in Louisiana, a flat and a country house in Sweden, and a lot of rental property. I could probably afford to never get a job at all."

I looked at Sookie, and she looked so sad. She reached out and held my hand. "I'm so sorry you lost someone you loved."

If it were anyone but Sookie, I wouldn't have been able to believe it. I had just told her, in not so many words, that I was extremely wealthy, and she hardly seemed to notice. Her only reaction was to feel sorry that I had lost someone dear to me.

"It's okay. She lived a good life. My whole point in all this that when I came to college, all my professors told me that I was technically a good writer, but my words had no emotion to them. They said I needed more life experience. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it. I was afraid I would fail at this, and end up doing what my parents wanted of me. Sookie, since I've been with you, that's been changing. My writing has improved a lot and I get excellent feedback from my professors now. I feel inspired all the time. It's all because of you. You mean so much to me, and there are so many things already that I wouldn't have been able to do without you. I just wanted you to know that."

Her eyes welled up a little, but she didn't let any tears fall. I scooted down in the bed, and she immediately curled up next to me, our bodies molding together like they were made for each other.

"Thank you, Eric," she whispered.

"You're welcome," I replied, and with that, we both drifted off to sleep.

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**Awww...I just love him.**

**Surprise! I have the next chapter almost done, so there shouldn't be a long wait for another update! Yay!**


	15. Nerdvirgin No Longer

***giggles***

**Thank you all for the awesome reviews for the last chapter! I hope you like this one just as much!**

**Big thanks to FDM! She liked it, so I hope you all do to! **

**P.S. You guys like lemonade right?**

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Chapter 15

I woke up the next morning comfortably wrapped up in Eric's arms. The flannel really _was_ nice to snuggle up to. I slowly sat up, careful not to disturb him, and looked down at him. He was sleeping so soundly, that I didn't want to bother waking him. Instead, I grabbed my bra, and headed to the bathroom. I figured we'd be staying inside all day, so I didn't bother getting dressed. I used the bathroom, put on my bra, and headed out to the kitchen.

I started some coffee, and then began pulling out the things I'd need for breakfast. I was making biscuits and gravy. I had checked earlier in the week to make sure he had all the ingredients for it. I quickly threw together a basic biscuit dough, got them on a pan to bake, and then started browning some sausage. As I worked, I began to think about the night before, and what he told me before we went to sleep. I was pretty sure Tray told him something while they were gone. Judging by the kiss I received when they returned, I assumed it was something big. Then he told me about his aunt, and I just felt so sorry for him. It sounded like she was the one person that understood him, and he didn't have her anymore. I know he basically confessed that he was really wealthy, but that didn't matter to me. Even if he were a poor college student who didn't have two pennies to rub together, it wouldn't change my opinion of him one bit. The fact of the matter was that I was actually quite well off too. I had a lot of money from my parent's life insurance, but it was in a bank earning interest, and I wasn't going to touch it unless I had to. I was in college on scholarships and grants, and I wanted to earn my own living. Money just didn't matter to me as much as it did to others. That's why I didn't say anything about it.

When Eric had told me that I meant something to him, I knew that Tray had told him more about Bill, but I didn't care because he had just made me feel worth something for the first time in a really long time. I had helped him just by being me, and that meant so much to me.

The sausage was done, and the oven was heated. I added flour to the un-drained sausage and coated it well just like my Gran taught me, and then stirred in the milk. The biscuits went in the oven next, and then all I had to do was stir the gravy. About that time I heard the bathroom door close, and smiled to myself. I was really going to enjoy these few days staying there. Eric came into the kitchen when he was done, still wearing his pj's, and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. He hadn't put on his glasses yet, and I found that I really liked the way he looked without them.

"It smells really good in here."

"Biscuits and gravy," I told him, "You'll love it."

He pulled down a couple plates, and then the timer for the oven went off. I stepped to the side as he pulled out the biscuits, and put two on each plate, splitting them open. I turned off the gravy, and ladled some onto the biscuits. Eric poured us both some orange juice, and grabbed the silverware. I took the plates, and we went into the living room to eat.

He really liked the food, and I enjoyed that. It was a filling breakfast, and when we were done, he helped me clean everything up. I was drying my hands as Eric put up the last of the dishes when he spoke up.

"I have a question," he said quietly.

"What is it?"

"Would you be averse to a shower…with me?"

"You want to shower together?"

He nodded, "Only if you want to. We don't have to."

"No, I want to. Come on," I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bathroom.

When we got in the bathroom, I shut the door and Eric turned on the water so it would get warm. I started to strip, but he stopped me.

"May I?" He asked. I nodded, giving him permission, and then he slowly undressed me. That's when I knew he wanted this to be a sensual experience. It was more about getting to know each other better, and sharing something intimate than it was about sex. When I was completely naked, he let me undress him, and let me tell you, undressing someone as good-looking as Eric, while those clear blue eyes are staring into yours is something else. If we had already had sex at that point, I probably would have jumped him. When he was naked, he turned around and bent over to check the water temperature, and that's when I saw his butt in all its glory for the first time. I gasped. Eric whipped around and looked concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"You gasped. Did you hurt yourself or something?" He took a step closer to me.

"No, I'm fine. I just…the floor is really cold in here."

He furrowed his brow at me, and then turned on the spray. I could not wait to get in that shower with him. I was really hoping he would let me wash his butt. I couldn't believe I'd never paid attention to it before. I'd seen him naked, but he'd never been standing, or turned around. I couldn't believe my luck. Eric held back the curtain, and reached for my hand. He helped me step into the tub, and then stepped in after me. I stepped under the spray and got my hair wet, and then we switched places so he could do the same. I turned around to pick up the shampoo while he was wetting his hair, and when I turned back I gasped again. There's Eric naked, and then there's Eric naked and wet. Anyone would have gasped. His eyes immediately snapped open and he looked at me funny.

"Seriously, what are you gasping about?"

"Um…it...it's just, you're so…" I stammered.

"What?"

"You have a gorgeous ass, and you look phenomenal naked and wet," I blurted out with my eyes closed, not wanting to see his reaction. Turns out I didn't have to see it; I heard it. Eric let out a booming laugh that reverberated off the wall of the shower. I opened my eyes to see his head thrown back and his eyes closed.

"What is so funny?"

"You were afraid to admit that to me? Sookie, you have a gorgeous ass, and you look phenomenal naked and wet too."

I joined him in his laughter, and then handed him the shampoo. He squirted some into his hands, and then his expression grew serious as he began to lather up my hair. He massaged my scalp with his fingertips, and it felt great. When he finished, I rinsed my hair out, and then lathered up what I could reach of his. He was too tall. Eric finished it up, and then rinsed as well. The next part was what I was looking forward to. I grabbed the bar of soap and began to lather up my hands. I set it back down, and then slowly began to wash his body. I started at his shoulders, and worked my way down his chest, and torso. He was already poking me in the stomach with his happiness, but I knew he didn't want anything sexual out of this shower. I could see it in his eyes. He did let me wash his butt, and that made me extremely happy. It was so firm and sculpted. I washed it a bit longer than necessary, and finally released it when he raised an eyebrow at me.

He took the soap then, and lathered up his hands. He started at my shoulders too, and spent a bit too much time at my breasts. He smirked when I raised an eyebrow at him in my best mimic, and then worked his hands lower. Even though his touch made me feel like I was on fire, I knew at the same time that he wasn't trying to turn me on. This wasn't about that; it was about caring for each other. He was taking care of me, and I was doing the same for him. After we rinsed off, Eric turned off the water, and then helped me step out of the tub and onto the rug in front of it. He grabbed two fluffy brown towels, and we took our time drying each other off, and then we headed back to the bedroom. We got dressed in comfortable clothes, Eric put his glasses on, and then went back to the living room to watch some TV.

We ended up napping on the couch, and when we woke up, we talked for a while. Eric pulled out some old photo albums of his aunt's, which were filled with pictures of buildings and scenery rather than people. She had traveled the world, something Eric told me he would like to do someday.

We spent almost the whole day like that. It was a lazy day. We talked, kissed, watched movies, and kissed some more. After a while, Eric seemed like he wanted to say something, but he was a bit nervous.

"Eric, what's wrong?"

"I have something to tell you."

I nodded, and took his hand.

"Sookie, I'm ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Sex."

I really didn't see that coming. I should have, but I didn't. I was enjoying our lazy day and just being with him so much, that I hadn't thought of the whole "Eric's a virgin" thing in a while. Even though I was elated to hear him say it, I still wanted to make sure he really was ready.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. I just feel like it's time. I haven't had to pull back in a long time, and I'm pretty confident I know how to please you. You're probably still going to have to help me along, but I think it'll be great."

I smiled at him, and then I pounced on him to give him a big hug and laughed. He laughed with me and hugged me back.

"Are you happy?" He asked.

"Yes, I am. But now we need to have that conversation."

"What conversation?"

"The conversation about protection and what we're comfortable with…"

"Oh, okay."

"I want to tell you that I am on the pill. I have been for a long time, so if you don't want to use a condom, I'm okay with that."

"Well, I know you got checked and don't have anything, and I think I would be okay with not using them, but not at first, if that's okay with you. I know I'm not going to last long as it is, so I don't know if I could handle nothing at all in between us."

"That's fine with me. I want you to be comfortable, Eric. I'm fine either way; so when you're ready to not use them, just tell me."

"Okay. What else do we need to talk about?" He was getting nervous again.

"What do you know about jackrabbit sex?"

"Not to do it," he laughed, which calmed him down a bit.

"Good, because you certainly can't just go for it like that. Especially not with what you're packing."

He gave me a bit of a confused look.

"I know you've read a lot, so certainly you know how a woman needs to be prepared, right?"

He nodded.

"I have no doubt that you'll be great at that. We've pretty much been doing that already. I'm just afraid that when we…start…you'll lose your head, and just start pounding away. That's not going to equal fun for me."

He laughed, "I understand Sookie. I promise I won't have jackrabbit sex with you. Now, what's all this about what I'm packing?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, mister." I laughed. He deserved an ego boost. "You're huge. If you don't handle that thing correctly, it's going to hurt."

He stopped laughing, and looked at me seriously for a minute, "I won't hurt you, Sookie."

I simply nodded. I didn't want to think of the memories that simple statement brought to the forefront of my mind. This was a happy day, and I refused to think of the past. "Do we need to go buy condoms?" I asked.

"No, I bought some a week ago."

"Oh good." I was a bit surprised that he had gotten them a week ago. It made me happy though, because that meant he really had been thinking about this for a while. I didn't want this to be a spur of the moment decision for him.

It was about time for supper, so we went into the kitchen to heat up some leftovers. We had munched a bit throughout the day, so we weren't that hungry. We each fixed a plate, and then went to the living room to eat. After we finished we put in a movie, and snuggled up on the couch. About an hour into it, Eric started running his hand up and down my arm. Then he brushed my hair away from my neck and began planting kisses along the base, slowly working his way around to my jaw line, stopping to pay attention to that spot behind my ear that I like. I turned my head, and he captured my lips with his. Our kissing was slow at first, almost reverent, and then like a switch flipped, it turned urgent and needful. I couldn't wait for what was to come.

EPOV

When our kissing turned urgent I pulled back, and stood up. I took Sookie's hand in mine, and we went back to my bedroom. It was just starting to get dark out, so I turned on the bedside lamp. I wanted to be able to see her. Sookie knelt on the bed, and I joined her. We resumed kissing, and my hands roamed her body slowly, and then settled on her waist, pulling her closer into me. She moaned when my erection rubbed up against her, causing me to grow harder. It was like my junior me knew what was about to happen, and he was getting a bit ahead of the game. I pulled back a bit so that I could take off her shirt, and then she took off mine, knocking my glasses off in the process. I tossed them carelessly onto the nightstand, and then got back to the task at hand. The lust in her eyes increased when she saw my bare muscles, as did mine when I took off her bra. She really did have a magnificent pair of breasts. I used my mouth on them, licking, biting, and sucking until she gasped. I hooked my fingers into the waistband of her pants and underwear both, and pulled them down to her knees. She sat back, and brought her legs around so I could pull them all the way off. I pulled my own off, and then we were both completely naked. I lay down next to her and she smiled at me.

"Are you still sure about this?" She asked.

"More than ever," I replied, and then we were kissing again.

I rolled her under me, and took my time kissing down her body, all the way to her toes. Then I kissed my way back up her legs, and finally stopped at her center. She was already very hot and wet, and I licked her slowly, doing my best to arouse her even more. I probed her entrance with my finger, and then slid it in. She moaned loudly as I added a second finger, which I had never done before. I pumped them in and out of her until she was panting and moaning, and then I pulled back and reached into my nightstand for a condom. My hands were shaking as I opened it and rolled it on. Sookie noticed, and immediately calmed me by kissing me. She pulled me down to her, and my hips settled right between her thighs.

"Are you ready?" She asked, looking me right in the eyes.

"Yes."

She smiled, and kissed me again. Her hand went down between us, and positioned me right at her entrance. I gave her a questioning look, and she nodded, so I began to push into her. I tried to watch her face carefully for any sign of pain, but she just felt so good that I couldn't focus. I was barely inside her, and I already felt like I was in heaven. I continued to push slowly until I heard her take a sharp breath.

"What is it? Did I hurt you? Should I stop?"

"Don't stop. Just give me a second," she said, and then she shifted her hips, which caused me to slide in a bit more. She gasped as I groaned.

"I'm sorry." I didn't want her to feel any pain.

"Eric, it's okay. Look at me." Her hands cupped my face, and I looked into her eyes. "I'm fine. Just keep going slow, okay?"

"Okay," I said.

I looked into her eyes, and then I slowly kept pushing. When I was a little more than halfway in, she closed her eyes, and had an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Don't close your eyes, Sookie," I said frantically. "I need you to look at me." Her eyes popped back open and she kissed me. She moved her hips a bit, so I started moving again, and then she surprised me by hitching her legs up around my waist, effectively pulling me all the way in.

I groaned loudly and buried my face in her neck. She felt incredible around me. She was so tight, and very hot and wet. I couldn't believe I held back from this for so long. I was an idiot. It took me minute, but I finally realized that Sookie was still tensed up below me. I kissed her neck on the sensitive spot behind her ear until she relaxed, and then I pulled my head back to look her in the eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded, and then kissed me again. She began to move her hips against mine, so I took that as a green light, and pulled out of her a little before pushing back in. The second time, I pulled out a little more and when I pushed back in she moaned into my mouth. That, of course, made me confident, and soon I was slowing pulling almost all the way out before thrusting back in. Not fast, but not really slow either. I already felt the build-up of a powerful orgasm, but I wanted to make this last as long as I could. She felt so good though, and she kept sweetly moaning in my ear. I knew I wouldn't last much longer.

"It's okay. Come, Eric. Let go," she whispered in my ear, and that was all it took to push me over the edge. I thrust powerfully into her one last time as I came harder than I ever had before. I collapsed on top of her, not wanting to pull out yet. I was breathing hard into her neck, when I remembered what I had told her. I wanted her to enjoy herself too. I slowly pulled out of her, causing her to wince slightly, and then my head was between her legs. She moaned loudly as I licked and sucked on her clit, and then I used two fingers to find her sweet spot again. When I did, she cried out instantly, and clenched around my fingers. I slowly licked her through her orgasm, and then kissed my way back up her body before collapsing next to her. She was still in a haze, so I took a moment to discard the used condom.

When I lay back down next to her, she took one look at me, and then started giggling. I couldn't help it, I laughed with her. We probably laughed for a few good minutes before the high began to fade. I turned toward her and propped my head up with my hand. I tucked her hair behind her ear, and then used my fingertip to trace the outline of her lips. She smiled contentedly at me.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

"How lucky I am. I never thought I would be lucky enough to do this exactly how I wanted it."

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted my first time to be with someone I cared about, and I was beginning to think I would never find that, until I met you. Thank you for that, Sookie."

She kissed me in response, and I rolled on top of her again. We kissed for a while, and I was beginning to get hard again.

"You can't be ready again," she said, astonished.

"I think I am," I smirked. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay," she said, and then she was kissing me. I rolled another condom on, and then positioned myself above her again. We kissed as I entered her slowly, and I didn't have to stop this time. She felt amazing around me as I moved in and out of her. I went a little faster this time, and she was moaning as she thrust her hips up to meet me with each stroke. Her moaning kept getting louder, and I was hoping she would be able to come with me, but unfortunately I reached the edge before her.

"Shit," I muttered into her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be able to last longer the more we do it."

I began to kiss my way down her body, but she stopped me. "Sookie, I'll never leave you unsatisfied."

"I know, but if you do that right now, I'll be too blissed out to do it again, and I have a feeling you'll be ready soon. So why don't you just come up here and snuggle with me for a little while?"

I nodded and lay next to her again. She curled right into my body, and I had never felt more content. The feel of her moist, naked body against mine was wonderful, and I couldn't help but think about how it got that way. At some point my thoughts carried me away into sleep, and I woke up about thirty minutes later with another hard-on. The damn thing was a little over eager. Sookie was sleeping soundly next to me, so I got up and went to the bathroom to clean myself up. When I came back to bed, I still had a hard-on, and as I stared at her beautiful, naked body I got an idea.

I went ahead and put a new condom on my now achingly hard penis, and then I lay next to her. I lightly kissed her lips until she stirred, and when she did, she responded immediately by kissing me back. I broke from her mouth to begin kissing down her body, paying special attention to all the spots I knew made her gasp. By the time I ended up between her thighs, she was already panting with want. I used my tongue on her clit, as I slid two fingers inside her, and began to pump them in and out. When she began to moan my name, I searched for her spot, and when I found it, I massaged it for a few seconds until she was close. Then I pulled my fingers out of her, positioned myself at her entrance, and slid inside. She thrust her hips up to meet mine and I groaned loudly.

She pulled my head down to hers for a very heated kiss, and then she bit my lower lip lightly. It spurred me on, and I thrust into her faster.

"I'm so close," she moaned into my ear. "Come with me."

I think I growled at that moment, and then I put my hand in between us to rub her clit. I wanted to be sure she would get hers. It only took about ten more seconds before I felt her muscles clench around me.

"Eric!" she screamed as she came. I thrust into her deeply one last time, and came with her. Coming together with Sookie was something I wanted to experience a hell of a lot more. There was nothing like the feeling of a woman falling to pieces around you, and because of you.

I pulled out, and collapsed next to her, breathing heavily. She began laughing again. "Feel free to wake me up like that anytime, okay?"

"Only if you promise to wake _me_ up like that sometime."

"Deal."

I pulled her to me once more, and ran my fingers through her hair and she lazily drew circles on my chest with her finger. Soon enough, we were drifting off to sleep again, and I was prepared for some really good dreams.

* * *

***giggles***

**What are we gonna call him now? He's no longer a nerdvirgin. Poo. I guess we could go back to Studybuddy. :)**

**I can't wait to hear what you all think of this one!**


	16. Positions, Positions, Positions

**HI!! I'm sorry for the wait on this chapter. For those of you who don't read my other story, What Dreams May Come, I'll explain the reason now. I had just started to get a cold when I posted the last chapter of this, and right after, it hit me full on. My head hurt really bad, and I couldn't write for a few days. When I could, I worked on WDMC, cause it had been a looooong time since that had updated. And then I started on this one. *sigh* It's hard splitting my love. And then FanFic was being a goober for a few days...that doesn't have anything to do with the lateness, but it ticked me off. LOL**

**Anyway, I'm thinking this chapter might make up for the wait...Why, you ask? Because it's a full on tropicana pure premium citrus explosion...Yes, yes it is. **

**What? You want to read it now? Oh....Fine...I'll meet ya again at the bottom.**

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Chapter 16

The next morning I woke up to Eric kissing my neck, and he was obviously a morning person, if you know what I mean.

"Good morning," I said.

"Morning," he mumbled.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

He pulled back to look at me. "I feel amazing. I know it's stupid, but I sort of feel like a man now."

"That's not stupid, but you were always a man to me."

"I know, but it certainly feels like a missing piece has been put into place," he smiled.

I smiled back, secretly hoping I could be another missing piece for him. He certainly was a missing piece for me. I sat up and stretched. I felt deliciously sore in places that hadn't been that way in a long time. Eric would have to take it easy on me today. I looked back down at him to find him staring at me with a smile on his face.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"A little sore," I replied, before I realized that it probably wasn't the best thing to say. He immediately sat up with a very concerned look on his face.

"What? Was I too rough? Why didn't you tell me to stop if you were hurting? Shit, I knew three times was too much," he rambled, not letting me get a word in. I put my hands on his face, and forced him to look me in the eyes.

"Eric, stop. You were not too rough, and I didn't tell you to stop because you weren't hurting me. Three times was not too much. The only reason I'm sore is because it's been a long time since I've done this, and my body isn't exactly used to its new friend yet. I'll be fine."

He stared at me for a minute, and then he slowly broke into a smile. "Maybe your body needs to get accustomed to its new friend with a little visit."

He kissed my lips, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and said, "Maybe it does."

He grinned as he lowered us back down to the bed. He kissed my lips, my neck, my breasts, over and over again while his hand and fingers made busy work between my legs. He was very gentle with me, and I knew he would be after my confession about being sore. After a few glorious minutes, he kissed his way down my body, and began to use his tongue on me. I was in heaven, and then he did something he'd never done before. He put his tongue inside me and began to move it in and out. I groaned at the new sensation. I was literally being fucked by his tongue, and it was incredible. Soon enough, I couldn't take it anymore; I had to have him. I pulled on his hair slightly to get him to look up at me. His eyes were glazed over with lust and need.

"I need you," I told him raspily. He smirked, and immediately got a condom out and on, and then he was above me, slowly pushing in. He was huge. It was no wonder I was sore. I almost felt like I was the one losing my virginity the night before. He had been so amazing with me though. He was being amazing with me now. He was slowly moving in and out, and when I couldn't take that pace anymore, I kissed him hard, biting his lower lip slightly. I learned from our last bout of sex that it spurred him on. It did the same thing this time. He groaned as he began to thrust faster, and my hands went to his ass to attempt to press him even further into me. He groaned even louder at that, and I could tell that he was getting close. I put one hand in between us, and began to massage my clit so that I could come with him. I knew it wouldn't take long, and it didn't.

I brought his head down so that I could whisper in his ear, "Come with me, Eric. Please. I'm so close."

He growled and thrust a bit faster, and then he thrust as deep as he could get. I felt him expand a bit as he came, and I let go too. We rocked against each other as we came down from the high, and Eric kissed me sweetly. He slowly pulled out, and lay down next to me. I immediately curled into his side, and he wrapped his arm around me.

"You're spoiling mornings for me, you know," he told me.

"How so?"

"Because they'll never be this good unless you are here to make them that way. I have a feeling I'm not going to want you to go back."

"Same here," I said as I squeezed him. "We've still got a couple days to enjoy together, and I intend to make the most of them."

"Well then, let's go make the most of it in the shower," he said as he sat up and climbed out of bed. He took my hand, and pulled me out of bed too. We walked naked to the bathroom, and I felt a little self-conscious at first, but quickly squashed the feeling. There was nothing wrong with being naked in the presence of someone you had just been extremely intimate with. It was also nice walking behind Eric while he was naked. Really, really nice.

We washed each other in the shower again, but didn't go further than that. When we finished, we toweled each other off, and then went back to the bedroom to get dressed.

"Do we have any plans today?" I asked.

"Well, I had originally planned to take you to a movie, but if you would like to stay in all day, I wouldn't mind that at all either," he told me with a sly grin.

"Hmm…as much as I'd like to stay here with you all day, I wouldn't want to change your plans. A movie sounds great." I put on my best excited smile, and he conceded quickly. I wasn't completely sure, but I think I had him wrapped. Not that I would use it to my advantage or anything…not for material things at least.

"Alright. Let's get some breakfast real quick, and see if we can catch an early show."

Within ten minutes we were both dressed, and eating some cold cereal for breakfast. I couldn't stop smiling at him, and often caught him smiling at me as well. There was simply no way to not be happy. We quickly finished our breakfast, brushed our teeth side-by-side, which was just funny, and then we were out the door. We managed to make it right before an early afternoon showing started, and found that we were the only ones in the theater. To this day, I can't tell you what the movie was, because we spent the duration of it making out. I remembered how shy he had been the first time we kissed in the theater, and I was surprised that he had initiated it this time. It's amazing what sex will do to a guy's confidence. As soon as the movie was over Eric and I practically ran back to the apartment. When we got in, we only took enough time to shut and lock the door before running back to his room, laughing the whole way.

"In a hurry?" I asked, as he kicked off his shoes. In response, he gave me a sly grin, and then picked me up and tossed me playfully on the bed. I giggled as I watched him continue to pull his clothes off, and started to pull mine off as well. Soon we were both naked again, and Eric was on top of me, kissing me eagerly. Things seemed to slow down then. We lay there and kissed until neither of us could take just kissing anymore. I was more than ready from the way he had been rubbing up against me for the last ten minutes, and I had an idea, so when he pulled out a condom, I took it from him. He gave me a confused look.

"Lay on your back," I told him in what I hoped was a sexy voice. He did as I asked, and then I straddled his thighs and ripped open the condom wrapper. Personally, I couldn't wait until he didn't want to use them anymore. I'd never had sex with Bill without one, even though he tried to talk me into it, but according to Amelia, the first time without is just amazing. That was something I wanted to experience with Eric. I understood why he wanted to use them though, and it just made me like him that much more. I slowly rolled the condom on, looking in his eyes the whole time. He really seemed to enjoy that. After it was on I scooted up a bit, and leaned down to kiss him.

"Would you mind if we tried a new position?" I asked. He had a very lusty and hungry look in his eyes.

"What position?" He asked.

"I'd like to be on top," I said, feeling a bit shy saying it out loud.

"Okay," he agreed.

I kissed him again as I got in the right place above him. His hands were on my hips, and I think he was a bit unsure what to do with them, but I had no doubt that once we began, he'd get into it. I broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes. I rose up on my knees and positioned him right at my entrance, and then I slowly lowered myself onto him. I wanted to clench my eyes shut at the pleasure I felt as he filled me so completely, but I was mesmerized by the look of pleasure on his face. When he was all the way in I let out a deep breath. This position was perfect for depth, and I knew I'd have to go slow with him because he hadn't been this far in me, and he was probably enjoying it a lot. I slowly rocked my hips back and forth, and then leaned forward to kiss him. When I broke away again, he finally opened his eyes. They were locked on mine, and I waited a few seconds before I began moving again. I slowly rose up and down on him, rising up a little higher each time. He finally moved his hands to my breasts, and began teasing them, causing me to gasp and moan. Then he sat up and took one of my nipples into his mouth, while he palmed my other breast. He switched, and played with the other for a while, and then I pushed him back down onto his back. It felt amazing, but I wanted to go faster, and it was hindering my motion.

"Oh god, Eric," I moaned with my eyes closed. When I opened them again, I saw that he was no longer looking at me. He was staring at where we were connected with complete fascination, and it was really turning me on watching him watch us like that. I began to move faster. He looked up at me when I did, and then I felt his thumb on my most sensitive spot.

"Come for me, Sookie," he said hoarsely, and it was by far the hottest thing I'd ever heard from him. This man, this utterly gorgeous man, who'd only had sex four times, was asking me to come for him. By god, how the hell do you not get turned on from hearing that? I sped up even more, and then all of a sudden I came. I knew I was close, but my release had snuck up on me somehow because I wasn't expecting it that hard or fast. I felt myself clench around him, and cried out in extreme pleasure as I watched him come with me, his face graced with the most beautiful look I'd ever seen. I slowed down and slowly rocked my hips until our breathing was somewhat back to normal, and then without warning, Eric grabbed me around the waist, and rolled me under him. He kissed me passionately, and I was breathless again when he stopped. He pulled out of me, discarded the condom and cleaned himself up, and then he got back into bed and put us under the covers, immediately pulling me into his side.

"I really, really liked that position," he said.

"So did I," I giggled. "Eric?"

"Hmm?"

"If you ever want to try any positions just tell me. There's a lot, and I mean a lot, of stuff I haven't done, and I want to share as many firsts with you as I can."

"Me too, and there's a lot of things I want to try," he promised. "Tell me, just how flexible are you?"

"Just what in the world are you thinking about doing, Eric?" I was smiling, even if I sounded stern.

"Nothing, I was just wondering."

I was silent for a minute, and then I answered him. "I'm actually pretty flexible. Amelia and I used to do yoga a lot, though not as much anymore. I can't put my ankles behind my head or anything, but I can get pretty close." I risked a glance up at him, and saw a huge grin on his face.

"Good to know," was all he said. He hugged me closer to him, and I relaxed into his big, warm body. It was time for a nap. I hadn't taken a nap in a long time, and had never had to because I was tired from sex. I really was experiencing a lot of firsts with Eric, and with that thought, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up about an hour and a half later, still snuggled into Eric. I carefully disentangled myself from him, and pulled on his sweater before heading to the bathroom. He was still asleep when I came out, and I had a stray smug thought about wearing him out. I decided to check my cell phone because I hadn't looked at it since I'd been at Eric's. I had a text message from Amelia. She just wanted to know how everything was going at Eric's, which I knew really meant that she wanted to know if we'd done it yet. I could have let her wonder for the rest of the weekend, but I knew the curiosity would eat at her until she showed up at an unfortunate time, or something like that. I texted her back: _It's going great. Even better than I imagined._ I knew she would understand that. After it was sent, I put my phone back in my purse, and set about making us some sandwiches from the leftover turkey. When they were finished, I grabbed a bottle of water, and took them to Eric's room. He was still sleeping. I giggled a bit as I took in his form. He was lying on his back, with one arm stretched out across the bed, and the other over his face. He was beautiful. I set the sandwiches and water on his nightstand, and crawled back in bed with him.

"Eric," I whispered softly. I moved his arm from his face and dropped it heavily at his side. Nothing. The man slept like the dead. "Eric," I said again, a little louder. Still nothing, not even an eyelid flutter. I didn't want to shake him or anything since he probably wasn't used to anyone waking him up. I finally decided to kiss him. It worked on sleeping beauty, right? As soon as my lips connected with his, I felt him stir. Jackpot!

"You are a hard man to wake up," I said as I pulled away.

"How long have you been trying?" He asked.

"Not long, but I probably could have been having listening to the radio and singing along loudly and off-key, and you still wouldn't have woken up. All it took was a little kiss, and you woke right up."

He was grinning all lopsided at me, and I just about melted.

"I brought us food and water. We need to keep up our strength," I said, as I indicated the sandwiches and bottle of water on his nightstand. He sat up and grabbed the plate, and then held it out so I could take one of the sandwiches, then he took the other. We ate in silence, grinning at each other every chance we got. Eric finished before me, and drank half the water. When I finished, he handed me the bottle, and I downed the other half. I reached over Eric and grabbed the plate, and then I got off the bed to take it and the empty bottle back to the kitchen. I put the plate in the sink, and the bottle in the recycling bin, and when I turned around Eric was standing there in his boxers. He put his hands on either side of my head, and laid a really sweet kiss on me.

When he pulled his mouth away, I wrapped my arms around his waist, laid my head on his chest, and breathed him in. His fingers began running through my hair, and I listened to his heartbeat. He sort of swayed me back a forth a bit as we stood there for what seemed like forever, but was really only a few minutes. Eventually, we broke apart and went to snuggle up on the couch together. We turned on the TV and found a channel that was playing "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving". It felt so good being curled up into Eric on his couch, wearing nothing but his sweater, and watching cartoons. I hadn't been that happy in a very long time. When the movie was over, Eric got up to use the bathroom, and I checked my phone. Amelia had texted me back: _SCORE!! Get some, girl! I'm so happy for you!_ I laughed out loud, and put the phone back in my purse. Eric came back out, and snuggled up with me again. I sighed contentedly against him.

"Are you happy, Sookie?" He asked.

"Very happy. This is the best holiday I've ever had, and that includes the Christmas I got my Barbie dream house."

"You played with Barbies?"

"Yes, and I wanted that house so badly so that Barbie and Ken could live there. My parents kept telling me I didn't need it, and I asked for it every time we went to the store. They kept telling me I couldn't have it. It was the only thing I put on my list that year, because I figured that if it was the only thing I asked for, I would get it. I know now that they had already bought it for me, and had been hiding it until Christmas, but I thought I had out smarted them when I opened it. That was a really great Christmas. Barbie and Ken had a lot of fun in that house. Unfortunately I grew out of playing with dolls a year later, so the house never got its full use."

He laughed, "So a sex-filled holiday trumps a Barbie house that never got used?"

I laughed with him, "Yes, yes it does."

"This is my best holiday too, Sookie."

I turned a bit and looked up at him. "I can only imagine what this Christmas is going to be like," I grinned.

"You're not going home for it?" He asked.

"I don't know yet. I do need to go back and see Gran, but I would love to do this again. Are you going home to your family?"

"I don't know either. If my sister doesn't come home, then my parents will probably go back to Sweden. We'll figure it out. If both of us go back, we'll still likely have a week together before the next semester."

"You're right," I said, and gave him a kiss. I told him to pick out a movie, and then excused myself to use the bathroom. When I came back, he was sitting on the couch still, and the TV was off.

"Did you not want to watch a movie?" I asked as I sat next to him again.

"Maybe later," he said, as he fixed me with a heated look.

"What do you want to do then?" I asked innocently, as though I had no idea what was going through his mind.

"How about we go back to the bedroom for a while," he suggested.

"But what will we do in there?" I asked, continuing my innocent charade.

He growled slightly, and then I was in his arms. He had picked me up, and was carrying me back to the bedroom. I giggled, and kicked my legs playfully, but he wouldn't put me down. He tossed me onto the bed again, and climbed on top of me.

"I'm still not quite sure what you're planning on us doing in here," I smirked.

"If you haven't figured that out yet," he said, as he pressed his hardness into my thigh, "Then I'm not so sure we should do what I had planned." He began to pull away, so I immediately grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him down to kiss me.

"That's what I thought," he muttered as he kissed my neck. I couldn't stop giggling.

Eric went down on me for a while, and then we had sex again. Afterwards, I was just plain worn out.

"I really don't know if I can keep up with you. You're insatiable."

"You sate me just fine, Sookie. I just have a really healthy appetite," he grinned.

I smiled back, "Well, all I know is that this is the best sex I've ever had, and I've never felt this satisfied or worn out. Also, I could go for another nap."

"I could too," he said, and then turned on his side to face me. I started to turn towards him, but he stopped me. "Will you face the other direction? I want to spoon you."

I smiled warmly at him, and gave him a kiss before doing as he asked. His arm wrapped around my waist, and pulled me tightly against him. I felt his lips on my neck once, and then we both drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up again, Eric was kissing my neck right below my ear. I moaned appreciatively, and a couple minutes later he moved away.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I want to try something. Are you too worn out?" He was reaching in the nightstand for another condom. How many of those damn things did he buy?

"No, the nap helped. What do you want to try?"

He smiled, and rolled the condom on, and then he got back in bed behind me. "I want to take you like this," he whispered in my ear. I nodded vigorously, and then felt his hand check my readiness. I certainly was. Then he positioned himself, and began to enter me. It took a couple of minutes for us to get our bodies positioned just right, and then we found our rhythm, and it was wonderful. He was hitting my g-spot every couple of thrusts, and I was moaning loudly. Eric was grunting and growling, and it was turning me on even more. I was moving back against him with vigor, and soon enough, he moved his hand from my hip, and down between my legs to help me along. Then he thrust into me just right, and I cried out. He groaned, and thrust a bit faster as I let the waves of pleasure wash over me, and then he thrust deeply again, hitting my spot once more, and I came a second time as he released into me.

I lay there trembling for a long time, and barely registered it when Eric pulled himself from me and moved from the bed to take care of the condom and clean up.

"Sookie?" I heard somewhere in the distance. "Sookie, are you alright?" I felt his hand move my damp hair from my face, but I still couldn't speak. He waited a couple minutes before speaking again. "Sookie?"

"Eric," I croaked out, and then cleared my throat, "Eric, _that_ was the best sex I've ever had."

He smiled triumphantly, and kissed me. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but there's a problem," I told him. "I don't know if I can stand up or not."

He laughed, and handed me his sweater as I sat up. His boxers were back on, and I assumed he did that while I was still out of it. He got out of the bed, and walked over to my side. He took my hands, and helped me stand, and I was shaky for a few seconds, but I managed to walk out to the living room. I felt a bit dramatic about it, but that was the most intense pleasure I had ever had at that point. Once I was on the couch, Eric kissed me, and then went to the kitchen to get food. He came back with two bottles of water, and some more Thanksgiving leftovers.

"It's the last of the Thanksgiving food, might as well finish it off. I'll make you something really good tomorrow," he said as he sat next to me.

"That sounds great. I'm just starving right now. I think we burned off a weeks worth of calories today," I laughed.

"It's my new favorite form of exercise."

"Mine too."

We must have slept longer that last time, because it was already dark out. After we finished our supper, we watched a movie. I fell asleep towards the end, and the next thing I knew, I was being carried slowly back to the bedroom. Eric lowered me onto the bed, and I moaned at the loss of his warmth.

"Just a second," he whispered.

I heard him head back out towards the living room, probably to make sure everything was turned off, I heard him come back up the hall, then the bedroom door shut, and then he got in the bed. I immediately moved towards him, and he wrapped me in his arms. I felt so at home with him, and the comfort of that feeling carried me away to a very restful sleep.

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***drums fingers on desk***

**Oh! You're done? Okay! How was it? Was it good for you? *giggles***

**Here's the deal. Coming up, we've got some angst. Ya'll might think I'm nuts for telling you this, but I feel it's only fair. I hate angst. It kills me to read it, and I'm gonna cry writing it, I'm sure. Alas, it must be done. The next chapter was originally gonna be a short fluffy transition, but I was looking over my outline today, and was thinking about combining it with the chapter after, which is the beginning of the dreaded angst. If I decided to do that, I have to tell ya'll this now. The angst is only gonna be for a few chapters, but I'm giving you guys a choice. I can either update as I get them done, and I have a busy couple weeks coming up (sister's bridal shower and crap. kill me now pls.) Or, I can get them all done at once, and update once a day so ya'll don't have to wait through all the heartache. It may be a bit of a longer wait for the next update, but you'll get through the angst faster. **

**So...wait through it with less of a wait until the next update, but longer between chapters...or wait a bit longer for the next update and get through the angst faster? **

**I'm leaving it up to you guys. Let me know what you'd prefer in your review! Also a little incentive...you never know what you'll get in a reply from me. I've been known to hand out passages and sneak peeks from time to time. *grins***


	17. Misunderstandings and Overreactions

**Hiyas! Are you glad I'm back?! I sure as heck am! I honestly didn't expect to be done with this so soon, but it seems that when you deprive youself of reading fic updates, your own story just flies out of you! LOL **

**Here's how this is gonna go. There are 4 chapters of angst. This one and the next are pretty short, and they go together, so i'll post this one now, then the the next sometime after I wake up. It's almost 3 AM now, lol. The two after that get thier own days, so by Thursday everything will be good again, okay? *huggles***

**I want to thank my fabu beta FDM for all her help! She's the best beta you could ask for! *bear hugs* **

**I also want to thank DeeMM. She's listened to my ideas, and helped me shape this plot into something decent. Thank you so much, girl! You're the best!**

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Chapter 17

EPOV

It was finally almost Christmas, and I couldn't be happier. Sookie and I were going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas together, and then she was going back to see her grandmother for a few days. No one in my family had heard from my sister yet, so I assumed I would be staying at my place over the break. Sookie and I planned to spend the break together, like we did at Thanksgiving after she got back.

After that long Thanksgiving weekend, we went back to our regular routine of school, studying, dinner, and me taking Sookie home. Only now we added sex in there between studying and dinner. Sometimes before the studying, sometimes before and after, it really depended on our moods. I was, of course, always ready for it, and Sookie certainly could keep up with me, but sometimes it took a bit of enticing behavior to get her in the mood. I didn't really mind. Trying to get her in the mood was often a fun activity, and one I took a lot of enjoyment in, especially when she succumbed to my charms.

Not a whole lot had changed between us other than the fact that we were sexually active. We were still using condoms at my insistence. We still did all the same things we used to; we were just also having sex now. I had begun to notice changes in myself since losing my virginity. I was insatiable, that was for sure. I was also suddenly aware of my body. I always knew I looked good, and it was one of the reasons I dressed the way I did, but I found myself wanting to wear jeans that were just a bit tighter so that Sookie could ogle my assets more. I began looking into contacts so I wouldn't have to worry about taking my glasses off every time things got heated between us. I even asked Sookie if she would mind if I cut my hair. At first she didn't want me to. She said she loved it the way it was, and especially loved to pull on it during our more heated encounters, but she agreed that a trim wouldn't be awful. I asked her to do it for me, and she complied. She did a fantastic job on it. It was now shaggier than before, still long, but the longer bit didn't go past the bottom of my neck. I really liked it, and so did she.

We actually hadn't had sex in a few days. I was feeling particularly horny one day, so I tried to put the moves on Sookie as soon as we got to the apartment, but she stopped me. She told me, rather embarrassed, that she was on her period so we couldn't do it for a while. She said she cramped a lot on her period, and she apologized profusely for it. I told her not to worry about it. I had waited a long time to have sex, waiting a few days wouldn't kill me. I missed the sex quite a bit because I had gotten so used to it, but it really didn't matter what we did, so long as she was still there. Fact was I had gotten quite used to her too. I really, really liked having her as my girlfriend. She was absolutely perfect, and I couldn't have imagined someone better. I knew how lucky I was to have her, and I hoped she felt the same about me.

SPOV

I was really freaking horny. I can't even describe how horny I was. I had experienced sex with Eric for almost a month, and then I got my monthly curse, forcing me to sit in the dugout for a bit. I wasn't happy about it at all. Believe me, when you get used to daily multiple orgasms courtesy of someone as amazing as Eric, you'd be frustrated from six days without too. I felt like the damn thing would never end. When I told Eric that we couldn't for a while, he completely understood. He even gave me back massages when I went to his apartment everyday.

The last few weeks with us had been great. As I've already mentioned, I got used to daily orgasms, and he did too. We simply worked lots of sex into our routine. We still talked and had an actual relationship. It wasn't like we were only together for the sex. I found that I really cared for him.

Some things had changed about him, of course. I didn't expect him not to change at least a little bit. They were good changes. He began wearing tighter jeans, which I really enjoyed. He got an appointment with the eye doctor to look into contacts, but I thought his glasses were just fine. He said he really didn't need them for seeing things up close, but would like to be able to not mess with taking his glasses off when we got busy. I could appreciate that. Then one day he asked me if I would mind if he cut his hair. I really didn't want him to at first. I loved his long hair, but when he asked me to cut it for him, I couldn't say no. I didn't go too short with it, but kept it shaggy. He really liked it, and I could still tug on it during our carnal adventures, so it was win-win.

Finally, the day before Christmas Eve, the last day of school before break, my period ended. I was so excited, and showered quickly so I could go to Eric's before our classes and surprise him with a quickie. I had never done that before. We had always met at the library after our classes were over. I hoped he wouldn't mind. Well, I hardly doubted he would mind at all considering what I would be there for. I walked quickly over to his apartment building, and practically ran to his door. I didn't care how eager I looked. I knocked on the door in rapid succession, and bounced a bit on my heels while I waited for him to answer. After a minute, he still hadn't come to the door, so I knocked again. Maybe he was in the shower? The door finally opened, and before I could jump him, I realized that it wouldn't be Eric I was jumping. My heart leapt into my throat, my stomach dropped into my kidneys, and I stopped breathing. A woman had opened the door, a woman who was wearing nothing but one of Eric's sweaters. She was gorgeous. She had long blonde hair that was slightly mussed, as though she had just been rolling around in a bed. She was taller than me, and definitely more stunning. Probably more experienced too. I couldn't stop staring at her. Finally, she spoke.

"Yes?" She asked in a voice that dripped sex.

I didn't answer her. I turned around quickly, and ran. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears with every breath I took. I ran straight out of his building, and all the way back to mine. I didn't stop moving until I was in my room. I slammed the door shut, and put my back against it. My mind was going crazy. I couldn't stop thinking. I had just found another woman in Eric's apartment; a gorgeous woman wearing nothing but one of his sweaters. Suddenly, memories of Bill filled my mind, memories of walking in on Bill and some random slut going at it. Those memories were slowly replaced with the scene of Eric's apartment door being opened by a leggy blonde in his sweater. Eric was cheating on me. Oh my god, Eric was cheating on me. No wonder he was okay with not having sex for a few days. He was getting it from someone else. How many someones? That was why he still insisted on wearing condoms. He couldn't exactly go without if he was doing multiple women. All the changes he was making. He was making himself more desirable to other women. I felt something on my cheek, and reached up to touch it. Wet. Tears. Oh great, I was crying. I was crying over a man, again. Not just any man. Eric. Eric cheated on me. I couldn't stop repeating it in my head. My legs couldn't hold me anymore, and I slid down my door until I was sitting on the floor. I pulled my knees up to my chest, and wrapped my arms around them. I began to rock back and forth, hoping the motion would soothe me. It didn't. It reminded me of Eric holding me, and swaying me back and forth in his kitchen during our weekend together. I heard something that sounded like a harsh sob, and it took me a minute to realize it came from me. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I cried. My body shuddered with the force of my sobs, and I couldn't stop. I realized at that moment that I loved Eric. I thought I was only falling for him, but I finally realized that I wasn't falling, I had fallen. Hard. I really had. So this was what it was like to have your heart broken. God help me, I swore then that I would never fall in love again. If someone as seemingly sweet as Eric could do something like this, then there was no hope at all. Tray must have been a fluke in the system, I thought wryly. Finally, I cried myself out.

I looked at my alarm clock. It was time to go to my first class. I didn't want to go. I was supposed to go to class today sated and happy. Instead I was crying my eyes out in my room because the person that was supposed to make me sated and happy was making someone else that way. No, I would not go to classes today. I had already taken all my finals, so there really wasn't any point. I crawled over to my bed, and curled up on it. I wanted to be angry. I wanted so desperately for my despair to turn into hate. I wanted to stop loving him. I couldn't.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I woke up from the sound of my phone ringing. I got up and found my book bag, and dug my phone out. I looked at the caller ID. Eric. Leggy blonde. Eric cheated on me. I dropped the phone, and crawled back in bed as another set of tears came pouring out. My phone let me know it had received a voicemail. I left it where it was. About five minutes later, it rang again. I cried harder. I couldn't bring myself to go turn it off. No matter how much I hurt, it still felt good that he cared enough to wonder where I was. I looked at the clock. I was normally meeting him at the library right now. I wished I were asleep again.

Amelia POV

I walked into the apartment after my last class, and rushed back to my room to get ready for Tray, but as I passed Sookie's room, I heard crying. I hadn't heard Sookie cry like that since… Oh shit. I rushed into her room, but she didn't budge. She was curled up into a ball on her bed, sobbing. The sight broke my heart. I walked over to the side of the bed to kneel in front of her.

"Sookie," I said gently. "What happened?"

She didn't answer, she just cried harder. The sounds of her sobs pierced my heart, and I couldn't take it. She was more broken now than she had been with Bill. That scared the hell out of me.

"Sookie, what's wrong?" I had begun crying too. "Please tell me."

"Eric…" she started, but stopped to clear her throat. "Eric's cheating on me."

"Oh my god, how do you know? Maybe you're mistaken." I was still crying with her. I had been able to tell for weeks that she was in love with him. If this was true, I was really, really scared.

"I went to his apartment this morning to surprise him. He didn't answer the door. A woman did, and she wasn't wearing anything but one of his sweaters."

Her voice had gone so cold, and I found myself seeing red. I could just kill Eric for this. I couldn't believe he would do something like this to her. I saw the way he looked at her. I could have sworn that he loved her too. Had I really been that far off the mark? A sudden thought hit me, and I felt so, so guilty. I had pushed to two of them together. I pushed her to be with him. I had wanted to see her happy again. I wanted to see her let go a bit. This was all my fault.

I heard Tray come into the apartment, and told Sookie that I'd be right back. I met him out in the living room before he could walk down the hall.

"Amelia, have you been crying?" He asked, concerned.

I nodded, "So has Sookie."

"What happened?"

"It's bad. I'm so scared right now. Eric cheated on her. She went to his apartment early this morning to surprise him, and a woman answered the door wearing only one of Eric's sweaters. She loves him, Tray. The look in her eyes…it's so much worse than Bill. I don't know what to do." I had begun crying again. Tray wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly.

"I'll kill him. We let him into our family. I told him about Bill, and he still fucks around on her? I swear I'll kill him."

He let go of me, and walked back to Sookie's room. He knelt down in front of her like I had, and took her hand.

"Sookie, don't worry about ever seeing him again. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you, okay?"

Sookie sat up immediately.

"No! Please don't hurt him. Please, Tray. Please," she begged.

"He deserves it, Sookie," Tray reasoned with her.

"No. I forbid it. I couldn't forgive you if you did."

She sounded really firm on the subject. Tray simply nodded at her, and sat on the side of the bed as Sookie lay back down. At that moment there was a knock on the door. It had to be Eric. Tray looked at me.

"If I answer that, I won't be responsible for my actions."

I nodded, and turned around to go answer the door. Sure enough, when I opened it, Eric was standing there, and the bastard had the nerve to look worried.

"What the hell do you want?" I said as coldly as I could manage.

"Where's Sookie? She didn't show up at the library, and I was worried about her. Is she alright?"

"No, she's not alright."

He looked confused for a second and then said with determination, "Amelia, I really, really need to talk to her."

Rage flared up in me. There was no way in hell I was going to let him give her some pansy ass excuse for cheating. That was the last thing she needed. "You no good piece of shit!" I was screaming at him, but I didn't care. "You stay the hell away from her." With that, I slammed the door in his stunned face. I tried to get my anger back in control before going back into Sookie's room.

When I did, I saw that she was sobbing again. Tray stood up and gave me a helpless look. I went over to the bed, and laid down on it facing Sookie. I wrapped my arms around her, and let her cry it out. No amount of telling her it would be okay was going to work this time, so I cried with her. A couple of minutes later, I felt Tray crawl in the bed behind me. He wrapped his arms around us both as best he could, and we stayed that way until Sookie fell asleep.

After we felt that she was out for the night, we left the room. Tray removed all the sleeping pills and other medicines from the bathroom, save for some aspirin, which he gave to me. I promised to sleep in her room that night so that I could keep an eye on her. We both remembered how deep her depression had gone last time, and we both prayed that she would get through this one. I could only hope.

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***sniff***

***passes out tissues***

**I totes cried when I wrote that. I'm a big sap. **

**Let me know what you thought! I can't wait to hear everyone's reactions! I hope ya'll can remember that we're gonna get through this together, and fast. Remember that, okay? You'll get an update a day! YAY! Two on this day in fact! YAY! Try to be happy. Don't be too hard on Eric either. He's new at this whole "being desirable" thing. **

***runs away quickly***


	18. He Doesn't Have A Clue

**Okay, it's short, but I promised. I'm awake now, so here's your Eric POV...**

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Chapter 18

EPOV

It was finally the night before the last day of school before break. I was hoping to convince Sookie to stay at my apartment that night, as well as the next two days. I planned to get up early to go to the gym so I could work off the stress of not having sex for a while, and I really hoped her period would end soon. I felt all wound up when I went to bed, and my hand wasn't cutting it like it used to.

I was off in my dream world, when I was pulled out of it by a loud pounding noise. As soon as I came to, I realized someone was knocking on my apartment door. I quickly went out to see who the hell would be bothering me so late, and when I looked through the peephole, I sighed and opened the door.

"Hello, Pam."

"Hey, brother. Mind if I crash here for a while?" She asked while walking past me, and throwing her bag onto the couch.

"What happened to wherever you were staying last?" I asked, annoyed. Pam could never stay in one place for long.

"Shit happens. So, do you mind if I stay here? I'll be out by January, I promise."

Shit. I couldn't just tell her no, she was my sister. This would pretty much ruin my plans with Sookie. Sookie. How the hell would she take this? I was sure she would understand, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.

"Fine, but you better stick to your word."

"I always do. Now where am I going to sleep?" She asked as she looked around.

I pointed to the couch.

"What the hell, Eric? You don't have a spare room?"

"I do, but it's currently being used for other things, and doesn't have a bed."

"Does the couch fold out at least?"

"Nope. I guess you can use it as an incentive to get out of here faster, can't you?"

"Jerk."

"Listen, there are rules here…" I began, but she cut me off.

"Yes, I know. Wash your dishes, don't leave food or trash lying around, recycle or die, keep womanly things from areas where you can see them, don't leave dirty clothes or wet towels on the bathroom floor, recap the toothpaste…am I missing anything?"

"Smart ass."

"I know."

"Is there a reason you showed up at four in the morning?"

"It's just when I got here."

"Fine. I'm going back to bed for a couple of hours, and then I'm going to the gym before school. I won't be back until this evening. There's food in the fridge if you're hungry. If you watch TV, please keep the volume down, okay?'

"Yes, master," she replied sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Goodnight, Pam."

It took me a bit to get back to sleep, but I managed to get another hour and a half of sleep in. I got up, and got all my shit together, threw my workout clothes in my bag, and then headed for the gym. Pam was sleeping on the couch when I left.

My day didn't go bad at all. I only had one final to take, and I knew I did well on it. I was still worried about what Sookie would say when I told her about Pam, but I had faith that she'd be okay with it. When I got to the library, Sookie wasn't outside, so I went in to find her. It was cold out, so it wasn't unusual for her to be waiting inside. She wasn't at our table, and I didn't see her stuff there either. I looked in all the aisles, but couldn't find her. I figured that she might have had to talk to her last professor or something, so I called her cell to let her know I would wait at the library for her. After five minutes or so, she didn't call back, so I called her again. No answer. I waited another five minutes, and called again. Still no answer. I was getting worried. I knew what professor she had last, so I went there to see if she was still there. Her professor said she hadn't attended class, but not a lot of the students did since they already had their final. It wasn't like Sookie to miss a class. I headed straight to her apartment after that. She must have caught a cold, and was sleeping it off or something. That was the only reason I could think of for her missing class.

I knocked on the door, feeling worried. As much as I just thought she was sick, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. It took a minute or so before the door opened, and it was Amelia.

"Where's Sookie? She didn't show up at the library, and I was worried about her. Is she alright?"

"No, she's not alright," came the cold response. I was really confused. Maybe she was contagious, and Amelia wanted to keep me out? Then I remembered that I had to talk to her about Pam, and was determined to see her.

"Amelia, I really, really need to talk to her."

Amelia snapped. I mean she freaking snapped. I'd never seen someone that angry. She started screaming at me. She told me I was a piece of shit, and told me to stay away from Sookie, and then she slammed the door in my face.

"What the fuck?" I muttered to the closed door.

What the hell was that? I immediately pulled out my phone again, and tried to call Sookie. I left another voicemail.

"Sookie, what's wrong? Why did Amelia just tell me to stay away from you? Please call me back."

I didn't hear anything from inside the apartment, so I went back to mine. I didn't want to upset anyone further. I began racking my brain to figure out what was wrong. The last time I had seen her was the night before when I walked her home. We kissed at her door before she went in, and everything was fine then. I felt so confused, and I didn't know what to do.

When I walked into my apartment, Pam was walking into the living room wearing one of my sweaters. I was instantly pissed. I knew she did it just to tick me off, but she caught me on the wrong day.

"Why the hell are you wearing my sweater? Take it off."

She just smirked at me before pulling it off, revealing a short pair of athletic shorts, and a white tank top underneath.

"I was cold."

"Well if you wouldn't wear shit like that in the middle of winter, you wouldn't be. Next time put on some more of your own clothes, and leave my sweaters alone."

"What crawled up your ass and died?" She asked.

I ignored her, and went to my room. I set my bag down, and lay on the bed. I kept going over everything in my head, trying to figure out what could have happened. I couldn't come up with anything. I contemplated going back to her apartment, but I didn't think it would help any, especially not if Tray was there. If he thought I had done something to hurt Sookie, he would kill me. I kept calling her, but she never answered. Eventually the calls went straight to voicemail, so she either turned off her phone or her battery died. I gave up calling her. I plugged my phone in next to the bed, and fell asleep that night staring at it, hoping that it would ring, and that Sookie would be on the other line. It didn't ring all night.

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**Yeah... pretty much ALL of you saw that coming. I tried to throw you off as much as I could. Eric would never cheat on her. I know we all want to slap Sookie silly, believe me. I wanted to strangle her while writing all this. Can anyone say communication? Just remember only 2 more chapters! I'll probably update again when I wake up tomorrow, or maybe before I go to bed again. Since I don't usually go to bed until 3 AM...that's technically tomorrow right? **

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to FDM! I hope you're enjoying the reactions girl!**

**I can't wait to see what ya'll thought! How many "I knew it!" reviews am I gonna get?**


	19. The Return of The Asshole

**So it's not technically tomorrow for you west coasters, but it is in the central part of the nation where I reside, and I'm weak...so I'm updating again. *giggles***

**So yeah, I'm glad ya'll are ready to strangle not only Sookie, but Amelia too. Some apologies will be happening when all this shiz is over, I swear. **

**Okay, I give you....The Return of Bill.....**

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Chapter 19

I woke up the next morning feeling a bit hazy, almost like I had a hangover. My head was throbbing, and my pillow smelled salty. I sat up quickly as everything came back to me. Maybe it was a bad dream? I looked at the floor, and saw Amelia sleeping there. No. It wasn't a dream. It really happened. I got up, and quietly went to the bathroom. I did my business, and then opened the cabinet for some aspirin.

As I looked into the cabinet, I saw that all the medicine was gone. The only thing left was some toothpaste, dental floss, a box of tampons, and the first aide kit. I knew instantly why all the pills were gone. A memory came to me from just after my breakdown. I was standing in my bathroom at Gran's house and I had a hand full of sleeping pills. I still can't remember if I was actually going to swallow them or not. I think I may have been wondering to myself if I'd actually go that far. Before I could make a decision however, Amelia walked in to see why I wasn't ready for school yet. I remember the look of devastation and fright on her face when she realized what was in my hand. She ran to me and knocked my hand so that the pills went down the rusty drain. She began screaming at me, and shaking my shoulders, asking why I would do something like that. She kept telling me that I had people that loved me, and that she would never forgive me for leaving her. We both broke down in tears that morning. We skipped school, and she stayed with me that day. We talked about a lot of things, and that day ended up being a turning point for me. My depression got a bit better every day after that, and I owe that to Amelia. The fact that she had removed the pills from the bathroom made me pause. I decided then and there that I would not succumb to this. I could get through it. No one had died this time; I had just been cheated on. As much as that stung, I knew without a doubt that it wasn't worth staying holed up in my room, crying for days. I would forget about Eric Northman, so help me, I would.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a light tapping on the door.

"Sookie? Are you okay?" Came Amelia's soft and caring voice.

"I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute," I said.

"I'll start some coffee," she replied.

I finished up in the bathroom, took a few deep breaths, and then joined Amelia in the kitchen. She was looking at me cautiously, so I offered a weak smile.

"Do you know where the aspirin is? I have a killer headache."

She gave me a guilty look. "Yeah, it's in my purse," she said as she went to retrieve it.

"Amelia, I want you to know that I understand why all the pills are gone, but it's not necessary."

She began to protest, so I explained my little resolution from the bathroom. I knew it would be a hard road, but I could get through it with Amelia and Tray by my side. When I finished she hugged me tightly, and promised that she'd be there for me every step of the way. I thanked her, and then excused myself to shower.

Everything was going as good as could be expected. I showered, and managed not to cry. I dressed, and managed not to cry. I had breakfast, and managed not to cry. Then, I happened across what was supposed to be Eric's Christmas present, and all the not crying was shot to hell. I picked up the small box, and sat on my bed. Tears were flowing steadily out of my eyes as I removed the lid to reveal the beautiful silver necklace I had gotten him. As soon as I saw it, about two weeks prior, I bought it. I knew it would be perfect for him. It was a long silver chain, and on the end was a silver Thor's Hammer pendant. He loved his heritage, and I knew he'd love the necklace. I had often imagined the look on his face when he opened it, but now I'd never get to see it.

I was in the middle of my mini-breakdown when Amelia came in. She sat quietly next to me, and held my hand until it passed.

"Sookie, I'm going to cancel the party tonight," she told me firmly.

"No, you can't cancel it. You've been looking forward to it for so long."

Amelia had been planning a Christmas Eve party for a few weeks, and a lot of people were coming. Eric and I weren't up for partying much, so we had planned to just stay at his place.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" She asked cautiously.

"I'll be fine. I could use a nice distraction anyway."

She fixed me with a stern, yet caring look.

"I don't mean it like that. I'm not planning on having rebound sex or anything. I couldn't do that. I just mean that it would be nice to have a few drinks, and dance a bit. I can't dwell on it forever."

She considered me carefully for a minute before answering, "Fine, but if you want to leave at any point, you come get me, and I'll take you out so we can look at people and feel better about ourselves, okay?"

I laughed. That was a little ritual of ours when was of us was feeling down. We'd go to the mall, or the store, and sure enough, we would always find someone that seemed to be having a worse time than us. It sounds cruel, but believe me, if you ever did it, you'd understand. We're not making fun of these people; we're just realizing that we have no right to complain.

"It's a deal. Now let's go get ready!" I tried to sound enthusiastic, but she probably saw right through it.

I decided on a pair of jeans, and a nice top for the party. The top didn't show off too much, because I didn't want it too. I wanted to look nice for the occasion, but I wasn't really ready for guys to be ogling my assets yet. Tray showed up with the alcohol, so I assumed Amelia had informed him that the party was still on. Tray had just turned twenty-one, and was taking full advantage of it. Shortly after he got there, people started showing up. I held my breath for a while, wondering if Eric would show, but I didn't think he would, so I got a beer, and tried to relax a bit.

Soon enough, the party was in full swing, and after two more beers, I was feeling fine. I didn't drink often, so when I did it didn't take much to loosen me up. I danced quite a bit, and got propositioned a lot, which made me uncomfortable for a while. I had wanted to be able to tell them no, because I had a boyfriend, but I couldn't. I finally said yes to one guy, and he got too touchy-feely. All I could think about was wanting Eric's hands to be on me. I wanted his touch, but I couldn't have it anymore. I quickly broke away from the guy, and bumped into another, who accidentally spilled his drink on me. He apologized profusely, and I told him it was fine before heading back to my room to change.

Just as I got a new top on, I heard the door opening.

"I'm fine Amelia, I just needed to change," I said without turning around. The voice that answered made the hairs on my neck stand up, and not in a good way.

"Hello, Sookie. So nice to see you again."

I turned around quickly, and sure enough, Bill Compton was standing there.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was in town, and heard that Amelia was throwing a party. I assumed you would be here. I've been watching you all night. When I saw you come in here, I thought we could talk a bit."

"Talk about what?"

"About us. I've missed you," he said as he moved closer to me. I moved back.

"I haven't missed you," I said with some anger in my voice. What the hell was going on with my life? First Eric cheats on me, and now Bill is in my room acting like he wants to get together again. Again, what the hell?!

He had backed me into a corner, and try as I might, I couldn't get my limbs to remember the self-defense moves I knew. Amelia and I took classes before coming to college, and I hadn't had to use them yet. I didn't think Bill would try anything without my consent, but as he got closer, I could smell the hard alcohol on his breath.

"You know what I've missed?" He asked as he ran his hand up my arm. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to kick him in the groin, and run away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Being in his presence brought back all those memories of him telling me I wasn't good enough. Because of what happened with Eric, I was beginning to believe him again. "I've missed your talented mouth. Why don't you use those talents again for old time's sake?"

"No," I said quietly, but with force, at least I hoped I sounded forceful.

"Come on, Sookie, just once. Then I'll leave you alone."

He gripped my upper arms hard, and squeezed until it hurt. I was sure I'd have bruises.

"You're hurting me, Bill! Stop!" I yelled, and then my door was flung open hard, and Bill was being ripped from me.

EPOV

I tried to call Sookie again as soon as I woke up, but it still went straight to voicemail. I remembered that Amelia was having a party that night, and decided to go over there to try to find Sookie. I just hoped to avoid Tray and Amelia, and hoped that Sookie would talk to me. It was killing me not knowing what was going on.

I woke up a bit late, so I took a shower, and went to the store to pick up some more food since Pam was going to be there. She liked junk food, so I figured I'd be nice and keep her happy while she was there. Less chance of her annoying me that way. I was also hoping to hear from some of the other students in town whether or not Amelia was still having the party. The buzz around the alcohol section was positive, so I would definitely be going to it.

When I got back, I still had a few hours to kill before going over to their apartment. I didn't want to show up too early because it would be easier for them to spot me with less people there. To bide my time, I watched a movie with Pam, and then cooked us some supper. She kept trying to talk to me, but I was too stressed out to have a conversation with her. She noticed, but didn't bug me about it. As soon as I deemed it late enough to go to the party, I left.

There were people standing outside Sookie's apartment, and the door was open, so I slipped in, keeping an eye out for Amelia and Tray. I spotted them quickly in the kitchen, and went the opposite direction. I scanned the crowd for Sookie, but didn't see her anywhere. I was kind of relieved at that. I didn't know if I could take seeing her dancing with another guy. I finally decided to check her room, assuming that she may not have been in the partying mood. As I walked down the hall I heard her voice, then I heard a man's voice, and froze. Sookie was in her room with another guy. I was pissed. How the hell could she do that? Then I heard her shout, "You're hurting me, Bill! Stop!" All my anger was directed to a different person as I realized that it was Bill in Sookie's room, and that she definitely didn't want him there.

I flung the door open hard, hoping to catch him off guard, and then I saw them. He had her backed into a corner, and he was gripping her upper arms hard. She looked scared, and all I saw was red. I was on him in seconds. I pulled him away from her, and punched him in the nose hard. He immediately fell to the ground yelling, "You broke my nose asshole!" I gave him a kick in the ribs for good measure, which shut him up, and then turned to Sookie. She was staring at me with so much emotion in her eyes. She looked scared and hurt, but didn't make a move. I looked her up and down, making sure she was alright, and then in a swift motion, I took a step towards her and pulled her into my embrace. She relaxed against me for a split second before letting out a strangled cry and shoving away from me.

"Sookie, what's wrong?" I asked desperately. I have to admit, I was hurt. I didn't understand why she was rejecting me so strongly.

"Just get away from me," came her teary reply.

I was so utterly confused. I didn't know why she was acting like this. I hadn't done anything wrong. There was so much hurt in her eyes, and I feared that I was the cause of it. Before I could say anything else, Amelia and Tray came rushing in. Amelia took one look at Bill on the floor, clutching his nose, then one long, hateful look at me before running to Sookie. She put her arm around her protectively, and led her out of the room. I stared at them the whole time, hoping Sookie would look at me, but she didn't. It wasn't until after they left that I realized that Tray was still in the room. Surprisingly, he seemed calm.

"Help me with this," he said as he gestured to Bill.

I nodded, and helped him get Bill out of the apartment, and then out of the building. When we were outside, we propped him up against the side of the building, and then Tray turned to go back inside.

"Tray," I began, but he turned on me so fast, I shut up.

"I thought you were different," he seethed. "The only reason you don't look like Bill right now, is because I promised her I wouldn't hurt you. Stay the fuck away from her, Eric."

With that, he turned, and walked into the building. I was now confused, and really freaking frustrated. I had no idea why the hell they were all acting like I had committed a crime or something. I went back to my apartment, ignored Pam on my way through, and immediately went to my room to think about what happened. My anger at not knowing quickly dissolved to worry as I remembered the look of hurt in Sookie's eyes. She was hurting bad, and I knew it was because of me, I just didn't know why. I decided to call her one last time, and if she didn't call me back, I'd just have to wait until school started again to try and see her. Her phone went straight to voicemail again.

"Sookie, please talk to me. Please. I can't stand knowing you're so hurt, and knowing that it's because of me. I don't know what I did. I miss you. I love you. Please call me back."

After I hung up, I realized what I told her. I instantly knew that it was the truth. I was in love with Sookie. Unfortunately this wasn't the way I would liked to have realized such feelings, let alone the way I would have liked to tell her about them. I could only hope that she'd give me another chance.

I stared at my phone again that night. She never called me back, and I never slept.

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**The next chapter is the resolution! YAY! And just to clear up confusion: This story is not over when the angst ends. I have lots more story to tell, I promise!**

**I would also like to state that FDM, my loverly beta, is a doody head. Yes, yes she is. *sticks tongue out at FDM* **

**P.S. FDM really is awesome, and that was in jest, and she gets it, I promise. **

**So whatcha think of the chapter? **


	20. Rejection, Wisdom, and Copier Sex

**Ahh, here it is. The last of the angst. Well, sort of. You'll understand when you read it. Maybe I should shut my pie-hole and let ya'll at it? Okay, okay! I'll meet you again at the bottom, I'll have shit to say. **

**For my lovely Green...**

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Chapter 20

SPOV

I have to admit, I felt relieved when Eric pulled Bill off of me, but that relief was quickly replaced with despair. It hurt so much to see him. It hurt even more to see him defending me. I instantly hated needing to be saved. I knew I could take care of myself. I didn't need a man to save me. Looking at Eric, seeing the protectiveness he held for me…my heart broke a bit more. When he pulled me into his arms, I felt myself relax. Despite everything, I still felt warm and safe with him holding me. As soon as I realized it, I pushed him away. I couldn't let myself give in to those feelings. He asked me what was wrong, and I saw the hurt in _his_ eyes. Why the hell was _he_ hurting? He's the one that cheated. I told him to get away from me, and he looked like he wanted to respond, but before he could, Amelia and Tray came into the room. Amelia escorted me out of the room, and down the hall to her bedroom, leaving Tray alone with Eric and Bill, the men who hurt me.

"Amelia, please don't let Tray do anything," I begged.

"He won't, I promise. You want to tell me what happened in there?"

I sat on the bed before I spoke. "I was dancing with a guy, but I couldn't handle it when he touched me. It was too soon. When I broke away from him, I bumped into another guy, who spilled his drink on me, so I went to my room to change. That's when Bill came in. He was drunk, and backed me into a corner. When he got his hands on me, Eric came in, and pulled him off me, broke his nose, and kicked him. That's about when you two came in."

"Sweetie, why didn't you use the self-defense moves we learned?"

"I don't know. I knew I should have, but I couldn't do it. Being around him again…I felt worthless. Especially after everything that happened with Eric."

Amelia kneeled in front of me, and took my hands in hers. "You are not worthless. Never think that. You just have amazingly bad luck with men."

I gave a dry laugh, "That I do."

She smiled back at me, and then got up. "I'm going to start shutting down the party. You stay back here, okay?"

I nodded, and lay back on the bed. Within minutes I was asleep, and the next thing I knew, I was being picked up and carried to my room. I knew in the back of my mind it was Tray, but I pretended it was Eric. I may have whispered Eric's name when Tray set me down on my bed, but I can't be sure because I was out again a few seconds after hitting the pillow.

When I woke up on Christmas morning, I wanted to be happy so badly, but I just couldn't. I was supposed to be waking up in Eric's bed, with Eric. We probably would have had some Christmas morning sex, and then exchanged presents…No. I couldn't think like that. If you live your life in "what ifs" then you'll never get anywhere. It took me a second, but I smelled the coffee brewing, and also something that smelled like bacon. I'm pretty sure it was burnt, but it was nice of Amelia and Tray to try. I looked down at my clothes, and realized that I was still dressed from the party. I grabbed some fresh clothes, and took them to the bathroom so I could shower and change.

When I emerged, and went to the kitchen, I found Amelia and Tray standing over the stove having a quiet argument.

"What are you two doing?" I asked. They jumped, and looked at me with guilty expressions.

"Nothing, just trying to make some breakfast for you," Amelia said with a fake smile.

"Yeah, I can smell it. Did you two burn something?"

"Just tell her," Tray whispered to Amelia.

"Tell me what?" I was amused now.

"I sort of burnt your favorite frying pan. I'm sorry. I thought I could let the bacon cook without watching it, then Tray distracted me, and all the grease…well, the bottom of your pan is black, and I don't know if there's any saving it."

I began laughing. I couldn't help it. This was too funny.

"Sookie are you okay? I just told you I ruined your best pan, you should be pissed."

"Amelia, I'm sure I can scrub it off," I told her.

"Well look at you. Seeing the silver lining, and all that," Tray said as he came to give me a hug.

"I just can't take much more of being disappointed," I replied. "Let me see what I can whip us up."

In another hour, I had a good breakfast cooked, and we all ate. Afterwards, we exchanged presents, and then I went to pack. I found my cell phone, dead on the floor. I plugged it in, and turned it on. I had quite a few voicemails, but I deleted them without listening to them. I didn't think I could take hearing his excuses. I was supposed to go to Gran's the next day, but Amelia suggested heading there a day early. I took her up on it, and after cleaning up; we all got into Tray's junker of a car, and headed back to Bon Temps.

They dropped me off at Gran's, and left to go to Tray's parent's house. Gran came out of the house to see who it was, and as soon as I saw her, I ran into her arms, and hugged her tight.

"Sookie, what a surprise," she said as I hugged her.

"I've missed you, Gran," I said.

"I've missed you too. Come in out of the cold, dear."

Once I was inside, and on the couch with a much of Gran's cinnamon hot cocoa, she asked me what was wrong.

"How can you tell anything's wrong?" I asked.

"I just can, now tell me." She fixed me with such a caring look, that I had to tell her. I did tell her. I told her everything, and then I broke down in tears again. I left out the reason I went to Eric's though, and all the sex stuff. I didn't think she needed that much information.

"You foolish girl," she shook her head.

"What?" I asked in disbelief. Gran had never said something like that to me before.

"Sookie, you love this boy, I can tell. Why on earth would you end the relationship without talking to him about what you saw first? Haven't I taught you any good sense?"

"It was pretty obvious what happened by what I saw. Why would I need to break my heart any further by getting confirmation?"

"Because years from now, when you're looking back on your life, you'll regret immensely not talking to him. You'll always wonder if what you saw really was something innocent. Even if it wasn't, you deserve the right to know, and he deserves to know why he lost you."

"He knows why," I said.

"No, darling, he doesn't. You said he asked you what was wrong last night. If he knew what he did, he wouldn't have asked."

I stayed silent. She made so much sense, but I didn't want to put myself through any more pain. We changed the subject after that, and soon it was time to go to bed. I had a lot of trouble going to sleep, and I almost called Eric. Almost. I even had my finger on the send button, but then I realized that it was Christmas, and he hadn't called all day, so I closed the phone instead, and tried to put it out of my mind.

The next two days, I spent at Gran's. She didn't say anything more about the situation with Eric, and neither did I. I found that I didn't want to leave when it was time to go back. Gran was safe; she would never lie to me or hurt me. I had to go, and I had to deal with all this stuff with Eric. I still hadn't decided whether or not I'd talk to him. I figured I would make up my mind when I saw him again, though I didn't know when that would be.

The next week and a half before the new semester passed slowly. Eric didn't try to call me anymore, and that fact hurt a lot. I wasn't sure why, since I did say I wanted him to stay away from me, but knowing he cared enough to call had felt good. I had noticed, as had Amelia, that I lost some weight. I didn't have much of an appetite, and while I tried to be strong and not let what happened with Eric affect me so much, it still did.

The day classes started up again, I was nervous. I thought I would be okay, but I wasn't. I was so afraid of running into him, and bursting into tears, or something equally embarrassing. I managed to make it through the day without seeing him, but decided not to chance going to the library, and headed home instead. That was all shot to hell when none other than Eric came running up to me in the courtyard.

EPOV

I had been keeping an eye out for Sookie all day, and finally spotted her at the end of the day, walking across the courtyard. I ran up to her, but she refused to look at me. She didn't look healthy. She'd lost weight, and it hurt to know that it was probably because of me, though I still didn't know why.

"Will you talk to me?" I asked.

"Please, just go away," she said quietly.

"No, I want to know why you're ignoring me. I want to know why you're upset," I replied firmly.

"Don't act like you don't know," she said, finally meeting my eye line, looking a bit surprised.

"I really don't know. I tried to find out, but you ignored me. You refuse to talk to me." My voice was raised a bit, showing my frustration with the situation.

"Don't give me that shit. You called for what? Two days? Then nothing for almost two weeks!"

"I was doing what you said! I thought you wanted space."

At that point, we were joined by Tray. He stood sort of between me and Sookie, which pissed me off. She was mine, and I wanted her so much.

"Leave her alone, Eric," he said menacingly.

"Why don't you back off Tray," I argued, and was swiftly met with a fist to the eye. Luckily he knocked my glasses off, and I didn't end up getting poked in the eye by anything other than his fist. I heard Sookie gasp, and then straightened. Tray looked like he was ready for a fight, but I didn't hit him back. I didn't even know why I was being hit in the first place.

When Tray realized that I wasn't going to retaliate, he put his arm around Sookie's shoulders, and led her away. I felt like I was being stabbed in the heart as she looked back at me over her shoulder. I should have been the one to comfort her. I was the one that loved her.

SPOV

I managed to avoid Eric the next couple of days, but I was finally thinking it was time to go back to the library. That, and I really needed a book. It's not like he could argue with me in there without getting kicked out, so I was sure it would be fine. That was until I got there, and immediately tried to go sit in my seat next to Eric's. I quickly realized my error, and made my way to my old, original seat. I didn't feel right sitting there, but if I sat in the other, then Eric would think it was okay to talk to me. I was making a statement. Then I started to pull out my things, and saw my Sunkist soda. I instantly felt tears. Who was I kidding? I couldn't do this. I sat up and stared at our seats, and was filled with good memories. They seemed to overwhelm and choke me, and before I knew it tears were streaming down my face, and I was running to the lower level, where nobody went. I needed to be alone.

EPOV

I wanted to try and talk to Sookie again, but I was quickly losing hope. I might have had a chance if Tray hadn't shown up, but that may have been wishful thinking. I had still been going to the library, hoping Sookie would show. I even brought her soda with me just in case. She didn't show up for a few days, but then she did. I walked in the library in time to see her sitting in her old chair, staring at the chairs we sat in together. Then suddenly she got up, and ran off to the lower level of the library, where there was only a copier that no one used.

I quickly ran after her, and could hear her sobbing as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I knew I'd have to be firm with her. There was no one here to take her away this time. She had to tell me why all this had happened.

"Sookie," I said, and she spun around. As soon as she saw me, she tried to get around me, but I was too fast for her. I kept stepping in front of her, and she finally got frustrated and looked at me. "No more running. Tell me what the hell I did to make you act like this."

I saw her anger bubble up behind her eyes, and then she exploded at me.

"What did you do? Are you fucking kidding me?! You cheated on me! I went to your apartment the morning of the last day of school to surprise you with a quickie, and guess who opened the door? Some gorgeous chick with legs for days, wearing nothing but one of your sweaters. Apparently you couldn't take a week with no sex, and had to get it from someone else. Or had you been screwing other women all along?"

She was seething, but at least now I knew why she stopped talking to me. I had to think for a minute. I knew I never cheated on her, but I was trying to remember what happened that day.

"Trying to place the specific woman?" She asked sarcastically.

Sarcasm. Pam.

"Damn it, Pam!" I yelled.

"I don't need to know her name."

"No, Sookie. Pam is my sister. The woman you saw is my sister. She was wearing one of my sweaters when I got home that night. She had clothes on underneath; she just wanted to piss me off by using my stuff. She showed up early that morning needing a place to stay. She's not leaving until tomorrow, so you can still meet her." I was pissed now. If she had just talked to me… "Why didn't you ask me?" I said angrily. All these weeks we could have been together, but she chose to believe I'd cheat on her. She just stared at me, her eyes brimming with tears again. I was making her cry…again. Great. I began again, much softer this time. "How could you think I could cheat on you? I would never do that, Sookie. I love you… I love you." It felt so damn good to say it, but I hated the circumstances. I was afraid to look at her after I said it, but her voice made my head snap back up.

"I love you, too."

That was all it took for me to be on her instantly. I dropped my book bag, and had her against the wall in seconds. Her lips felt so good against mine, as did her body. My body hadn't forgotten hers, and was instantly telling me what it wanted, and that it didn't appreciate weeks of deprivation. Sookie was responding eagerly. Her arms were around my neck, and her legs were wrapped tightly around my waist. I moved us again, so that she was sitting on the copier, and then I pulled back to look at her.

"Will you forgive me?" She asked.

I didn't answer her; I kissed her instead. I knew in my heart that I would forgive her, but if we began that conversation then we would have to skip something I was desperate for. I needed her, and with the way she responded, I could tell she felt the same. She kissed me back with earnest, and there was so much love and need in it. She began grinding herself against me, and I didn't know if I could hold back.

"Sookie," I warned.

"It's okay," she breathed in my ear. "Just be quiet. We are in a library, after all."

I laughed, but then I remember something important. "I don't have a condom."

She looked me in the eyes. "Have you been with anyone else?"

"No."

"I haven't either."

I nodded, and then kissed her again. This wasn't how I imagined our first time without one, but I really didn't think I could get back to my apartment without taking her. She was mine again, and I needed her.

She reached down, and stroked me through my jeans a few times, eliciting a groan from me, and then she unbuttoned them. I let them fall to the floor, as she pulled me from my boxers, and began to stroke me again. I got her pants undone too, and she lifted up so I could pull them off of her. I quickly buried my face between her legs, needing desperately to breathe her in, and taste her again. Even though she was more than ready, I kept going until she was almost there. I knew I wouldn't last long, and I wanted this to be as good as I could make it. She had a hard time keeping her moans quiet, so as soon as I was sure she was about to come, I covered her mouth with mine, positioned myself, and then slid inside.

I was right about not lasting long. I almost came as soon as I was in. The pleasure of skin on skin was indescribable. I'd never felt anything so good. I could feel all of her, and didn't ever want to stop. She locked eyes with mine, and began moving her hips against me.

"Please, Eric," she begged. "It's been too long."

I happily obliged, and pulled almost all the way out before thrusting back in. She gasped, and then wrapped herself around me. Her legs were locked around my waist, and her arms around my neck. My hands were on her hips as I continued to thrust into her, trying desperately to keep my grunts and groans to a minimum. Then her mouth found my neck, and I took a sharp breath as she nibbled and sucked on the sensitive skin. I rutted into her faster, and all of a sudden, I felt her walls tighten and pulse around me as she came. She bit my shoulder to keep quiet, and that pushed me over the edge. I thrust into her as deep as I could get, and let go. My eyes clenched shut, and I held her tightly to me as we came down.

I'm not sure how long we stayed clenched like that, but eventually, we pulled apart, and set our clothes to rights. As soon as she was dressed again, I wrapped my arms around her.

"I meant what I said, Sookie," I whispered in her ear. "I love you. Please don't leave me again."

"I meant it too, and I won't," she replied.

Before we walked up the stairs, Sookie seemed to remember something, and ran back to the copier. She returned with a handful of paper, looking quite red in the face.

"What is that?" I asked as I took them from her. "Ahh."

Apparently at some point during our tryst, we managed to photocopy Sookie's butt. We both burst out laughing at the same time, and hearing her laughter again finally convinced me that everything would be okay.

* * *

**Yay! They're back together! They love each other! They had sex on a copier! Hell yeah! **

**So what I meant up there in that top a/n is that there will be minor angst in the next chappy. Minor. They still need to have a talk about all this. Eric is still holding some anger over the whole thing, and Sookie's feeling mighty guilty. They just need to hash it out, and help Sookie get past some shit so she can trust again. But don't worry kay? Everything is good. I'm actually almost done with the next chapter, so maybe in a few days it'll be up. I'm also getting an itch to work on WDMC, so look forward to that too!**

**I'd really like to thank FDM for all her input for this chapter. She saved my ass on it, and she's the best! Love ya FDM, now let's talk about that HEA instead of non-foreign men in a foreign country, kay? **

**So how'd I do on my angst? This was the first time I've written major angst, and if FDM has her way, I'll be more evil in the future. Not likely with this story, but possibly future ones. I'll be responding to _all _the reviews for this chapter. I haven't been able to respond to all of them for the previous three because there's been so many, and I figured I'd just get you all on the last angsty chapter. So for a general one for the last three: THANK YOU! You guys have been beyond phenomenal with the feedback, and I love you guys so much. You're the reason I write this! **

**I'll shut up now...**


	21. Talking It Out

**Hey ya'll! I'm updating again! w00t! I want to thank you all for the love you've shown this story! I haven't gotten to all the reviews for the last chapter yet, but I will be getting on the rest of them when I get home from work tonight. **

**Alright! We're now dealing with the angst fallout. This chapter is a bit on the serious side, but the next one should feature love lemons. *sigh* I love love lemons. **

**Thanks to FDM for being the best beta in the whole universe. *ahem* feeling that HEA yet, FDM? Hmm? **

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Chapter 21

When we got back to the table where Sookie left her things, we had to stifle our laughter. The evil librarian was staring at us. I found myself hoping she knew exactly what just happened on that copier, and almost burst back into laughter at the thought. After we stepped outside, Sookie turned to me, and then gasped. Her hand went up to my eye, and she lightly touched it under my glasses with her fingertips.

"Oh, Eric! I can't believe I didn't see this in there. Does it still hurt?"

"Just a bit," I replied.

Her eyes welled up with tears again. "I'm so sorry. That never should have happened. God, if only I'd talked to you…"

"Sookie, stop," I said soothingly as I stroked her cheek with my thumb. "We still need to talk about it, but this isn't the place, and you don't need to get upset again."

"Okay."

"Right now, I'd like you to meet my sister," I smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I wanted you to meet her that day…" I trailed off as I felt my pain and anger start to bubble up again. We definitely needed to talk about everything, and soon.

"Okay," she said, sensing the awkwardness of the situation.

We walked hand in hand back to my apartment, and when we got there Sookie began looking nervous.

"It's going to be fine. She won't bite," I told her. She squeezed my hand, and then I opened the door. Pam was sitting on the couch watching a show, and didn't bother looking up at us. I cleared my throat, and she still didn't look.

"Pam, I have someone here I want you to meet," I said a bit on the loud side, and she finally looked up. "Pam, this is my girlfriend Sookie. Sookie, this is my sister, Pam."

Pam got up, and came to stand in front of us. She stared at Sookie for a minute, and I was about to smack her upside the head for being rude when she finally spoke.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" She asked, and then realization crossed her features. "Oh! You're the knock-and-run girl. I remember now."

I frowned at her, "Pam, I would appreciate it if you would inform me if I have people stop by in the future. You have no idea how much trouble you caused us."

"Oh can it, you were so pissy when you got home that day, I didn't want to bother you with it. I just thought she was a nut or something," she said, and then turned to Sookie. "No offense or anything. You just kind of stared at me, and then ran away. I had only been asleep on the _couch_," she said pointedly at me, "for about thirty minutes. I could have been dreaming you for all I knew. Anyway, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Sookie said back a bit shyly. I think she was still feeling embarrassed about thinking I was cheating on her with Pam.

"How long have you two been together?" Pam asked.

"A few months," Sookie replied.

"Why haven't I met you before now? You been out of town or something?"

"No Pam, she hasn't. We've been sort of split up." Even after having made up with her, it still hurt to say it. I could tell that Sookie was feeling the awkwardness again, and I knew this would be less uncomfortable with Tray and Amelia since they knew more. I'd have to explain things to Pam later. "We'll talk about it later. I'm going with Sookie to her apartment now, so I'll see you later."

"It was nice meeting you, Pam," Sookie said as we walked out the door. As much as I wanted them to get along, and I knew they would, I would have to explain some things to Pam first to save that awkwardness. Sookie didn't know her well enough to have to explain why she thought I was cheating on her.

"That was fun," I said sarcastically.

"She seems nice. I'm sorry I wasn't more verbal. It's just that seeing her was… I mean, I thought she was a woman you were cheating on me with. That's who she was in my head, so seeing and meeting her as your sister… It was throwing me for a loop is all."

"I understand that. I do hope the two of you are able to get along well. She's not around much, but when she is, it's better if she's happy."

She laughed, "I'm sure I'll make the effort. I'd love to get to know someone in your family."

"Now on to yours."

"Don't worry too much. Tray promised not to hit you again, and I'll make sure they sit down, and we'll start talking before they can start in on everything."

"Okay. Let's do it."

We stopped outside the apartment door, and she took both my hands in hers.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too," I replied, and then bent to kiss her. I had forgotten how wonderful her kisses made me feel. After we broke apart, we both took a deep breath, and then went inside.

Tray and Amelia were sitting on the floor in front of the TV playing video games. I always thought their relationship was pretty cool. They acted like old buddies, but were also deeply in love. I hoped Sookie and I could be like that.

They hadn't realized that I had come in with Sookie until they looked up. Tray did first, and as soon as he saw me, he tossed his controller aside, and jumped up. Amelia looked confused, and then she saw me too. She looked at me, and then she saw our hands, which were still clasped firmly together. She inhaled like she was about to yell, but Sookie put a stop to it before it could begin.

"Amelia, be quiet. Both of you sit down. We all need to talk," she said firmly. They did as she asked, and both sat on the couch. Sookie went to the kitchen, and brought back two chairs, which she put on the other side of the coffee table for us to sit on. Once we were all settled, Sookie began to speak.

"First of all, Eric and I are back together." Amelia looked like she was about to protest, but Tray actually stayed quiet, which I found interesting. "Amelia, knock it off. You guys can talk when we're done." Amelia sat back, and crossed her arms over her chest, but she shut up. "Eric did not cheat on me. It was all a big, huge misunderstanding. The woman I saw at Eric's apartment that day was his sister. As you know, I didn't speak to her to find out who she was, and she never told Eric I stopped by. He really had no idea all this time why we were mad at him."

"How do you explain the sweater," Amelia began, "I mean, I'm not accusing you of lying about this, but why did Sookie say it looked as though she was only wearing one of your sweaters?"

"That night, after I got home, she was still wearing it. She had on clothes underneath, but she's a bit of a nuisance, and likes to annoy me any way she can," I explained.

"We've also just come from there, and I met her. Looking back on it, I don't see how I couldn't see the resemblance. They could almost be twins." She hung her head a bit, and I knew we really needed to talk. I could tell her guilt was eating her up.

"I just want to thank the two of you for the way you protected her. I can't say that I'm happy about it, seeing that if someone had just talked to me this wouldn't have gotten as bad as it did. Regardless, it happened, and I am thankful that she had you two with her."

They both nodded, and then we all stood up. Tray pulled me into one of those wrist-grip half hugs, and then asked me to step outside with him. Sookie gave him a warning look, and her offered her a peaceful smile. She nodded, and then turned to Amelia while I went into the hall with Tray.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for hitting you. When you didn't hit me back, I suspected something was off, and I should have tried to straighten things out then, but I didn't. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. I would have done the same thing if I were in your shoes. Honestly, I get why no one would speak to me about it."

"Yeah, but we should have for Sookie's sake. I'm really glad you two are back together. She's been fighting the depression really hard, and I'm sure you can tell she's lost weight. I just want to see her get back to normal again."

"I do too."

"No hard feelings?" He asked as he put out his fist. I'd never done a fist-bump before, so I smiled, as I said, "No hard feelings," and bumped his fist with mine.

"Hey, Sookie and I still need to talk, and we can't really do that at my place right now. Would you and Amelia mind if we just went to her room for a while to do that?"

"No, not at all. In fact, I'll take Amelia out to see a movie."

"You don't have to leave…" I began, but he cut me off.

"It's fine, really. I understand. Ya'll need to get all this out fast. I could see the guilt too."

"Thanks, man," I said, and patted him on the back before we went back inside.

Amelia and Sookie were sitting on the couch talking, and they stood up when we walked in. Apparently Sookie had the same idea I had, because Amelia and Tray both suggested they go out at the same time. Within minutes, they had gone, and Sookie and I were finally alone.

"Can I get you something to drink?" She asked nervously.

"No thanks, I'm fine."

Why the hell was this so freaking hard? I knew I loved her, and I knew she felt the same, so why couldn't we just sit down and lay it all out. I also knew the answer. She was filled with guilt, and I was filled with anger, and if we didn't do this right, then I would end up yelling, and she would end up crying. I didn't want either of those things to happen, so I took it slow. I motioned for her to sit on the couch, and then I came to sit next to her. She was very tense, so I took her hand. She relaxed a bit at my touch, and then she spoke.

"I'm sorry. I had no reason to think you would ever cheat on me. I still don't. I want to tell you that I trust you fully, but I've already proven that I obviously don't. I hate that I can't say it. I hate that I can't trust you."

"Sookie, I understand why you could easily believe something like that, given what happened with Bill. I get it, I do, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. I have been so confused and frustrated all this time. I thought you were rejecting me, but then when I saw you, you looked so hurt, and I didn't know what to do. I was pretty sure you were hurt because of me, but I had no idea what I had done. I know that you want to trust me. I want you to trust me too. The only way for that to happen is for you to break through what Bill did, and see me for who I am. I'm not Bill, and I won't ever hurt you like that. Please don't let him affect our relationship."

"I don't know how," she said, and I finally saw a tear slip from her eye.

"We'll figure it out together. You haven't lost me, and you won't. I promise," I told her, and then added, "Do you believe me?"

She looked into my eyes for a long time, and when I thought I couldn't take it anymore she finally answered, "Yes."

I smiled, and then hugged her to me. "I'd never lie to you."

"I know," she said as she pulled back to look me in the eyes again.

"So will you promise to talk to me in the future if something's bothering you? I doubt we'll ever have a situation quite like this again, but I want to know you'll come to me before ending it."

"I promise. You deserve a chance to explain, but I have to say that the thought of me ever ending it again hurts like hell."

"I know. I hope that never happens," I said with complete sincerity.

"These last few weeks Eric… They were bad…"

"I know, and the first thing I'm doing tomorrow is fixing you a big breakfast, and you're going to eat it all."

She laughed. "I just haven't had much of an appetite. Food didn't taste the same, you know? Is that weird?"

"No, it was the same way for me. Nothing felt right."

"Will you stay here tonight?" She asked suddenly. "You don't have to, I just feel like I need to be close to you right now. I understand if you want to stay with your sister though."

"Of course I'll stay. Pam won't care. She'll take the opportunity to sleep in my bed anyway. She's tired of the couch. How about I stay here tonight, and then I'll go see Pam off in the morning, and then I wondered if you'd stay with me this weekend."

"Are you sure?"

"About which part?"

"All of it."

"Yes. I think we need to be close to each other for the next couple of days."

"Okay," she agreed, and then wrapped her arms around me again, laying her head on my chest. I rocked her back and forth for a bit while running my fingers through her hair. I had missed this the most. Just being with her. Holding her, smelling her, feeling her. It all just felt right again. I felt whole again. Eventually, she pulled back and took my hand.

"I know it's early, but I haven't been sleeping well and… Would you mind if we went to bed now?"

I offered her a warm smile, and stood up. "Not at all."

She led me back to her room, and grabbed some clothes before going to the bathroom to change. I called Pam to let her know I was staying at Sookie's, but that I'd be back before she left in the morning. I stripped down to my boxers and undershirt, and then used the bathroom when she came out. When I went back to the bedroom she was already under the covers, so I crawled in with her. As soon as I was under the covers, I lay on my side facing her, and she did the same. I kissed her forehead lightly, then her nose, and finally her lips. She wrapped her arm around my back, and held onto me tightly, as though she was afraid I would turn to smoke and disappear. I wrapped my arms around her, and she put her head on my chest. After a few moments I felt wetness through my shirt, and knew she was crying silently.

"I won't leave, Sookie. I love you. I'll never leave," I whispered.

She nodded her head, and I noticed that her grip loosened slightly. Not long after that, I heard her breathing slow, and even out, and when I was sure she was asleep, I allowed myself to drift away as well.

* * *

**There ya have it. They're not completely done talking. Eric's still curious about his voicemails, and about what happened with Bill before he got there. They also have to exchange Christmas presents! *claps happily***

**I've started on the next chapter, but I may take a break to work on WDMC. It's itching to get out of me! Ya'll can't complain though, cause you just got 5 chapters in a few days, lol. **

**I can't wait to hear your thoughts! **


	22. Purring, Funnel Cake, and Presents

**So, I know I said I'd work on WDMC next, but I didn't. This came out instead. Sorry *hangs head* *kicks dirt* Good news is that you guys get a new chapter of this, and I have actually started the next chapter of WDMC now, so you should get that next. I have the weekend off, so hopefully I'll get some writing done. Keep your fingers crossed!**

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Chapter 22

Eric woke me up the next morning with a sweet kiss on my lips. I wanted to wake up that way every morning, and I thanked my lucky stars I was still able to.

"I need to go back to my place to see Pam off," he whispered.

"When should I come over?" I asked.

"Whenever you want. Pam has a bus to catch in about an hour, and when you come over, I'll make us a big breakfast that I expect you to devour."

I smiled, "Okay."

I felt him get out of the bed, and then watched with barely-opened eyes as he got dressed. When he was fully clothed, he came back to the bed. He tucked my hair behind my ear, and then bent to kiss me again.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you, too," he whispered back. "I'll see you soon," he said, and after one last kiss, he stood up, and left the bedroom.

I thought about going back to sleep for a while, but I didn't want to sleep too long and miss any of this day with Eric. I got up, and went to shower instead. While I washed up, I thought about things. Even after our talk, I still felt guilty. Gran was right; I'd been foolish. Eric and I could have been together all this time, had I just trusted him enough to ask him about the woman in his apartment. I knew he understood why I had freaked, but I still hurt him by not trusting him. Knowing that I had hurt him like that was eating me up. I was the bad guy in this situation. By running away, and not talking to him, I revealed a lot about myself. It really opened my eyes to the residual damage left from Bill. I thought I had beaten it with Amelia and Tray's help. I thought I was okay. Until Eric, that is. I remembered having that mini-breakdown where I had convinced myself that Eric would treat me just like Bill. Apparently on some level, I still believed he would. At the same time, I trusted him when he said he wouldn't leave me.

I came to the conclusion that I did trust Eric. I trusted him so much, but I was allowing my insecurities left over from Bill to override that trust. I couldn't do it anymore. If I really wanted to be with Eric, I had to fully trust him no matter what my head tried to convince me of. I finished up my shower, and as I stood in front of the fogged up mirror, I remembered the promise I had made myself weeks ago when I thought Eric had betrayed me. I had sworn to forget about Eric. Thankfully, it hadn't worked. This time, I made a different promise. I swore to make it up to Eric in any way I could. I believed myself this time.

An hour and a half later, after much dawdling, and a conversation with Amelia, I was putting some things into a duffel bag to take with me to Eric's apartment. I was really looking forward to spending the extra time with him. I knew he would help me break through all my insecurities, and I had a feeling it wouldn't take long. I don't know what exactly gave me that feeling, but it was there. I took it as a good sign, and hoped with all my heart that we would emerge from this whole ordeal a stronger couple.

I said goodbye to Amelia on my way out, and happily walked over to Eric's apartment. As I walked up to the door, my mind replayed the last time I had gone there alone. I shoved those thoughts out of my head, and knocked. The door opened quickly, and before I knew what was happening, I was in Eric's strong arms, being spun in a circle.

"What on earth?" I laughed.

He laughed as he set me down on my feet. I held onto his forearms to stay upright because that sudden little spin had made me dizzy. When I could stand on my own again, he stepped into the hall to grab my bag, and then closed the door.

"I'm just happy you're here is all," he smiled as he set the bag down. "Now come on. I need to get some food in you. I making all sorts of stuff, and you're going to eat until you can't move."

He took my hand, and led me to the kitchen while he spoke. I just giggled and followed him, relieved to see him so happy. When we got to the kitchen, he surprised me again by turning quickly and picking me up from the waist. He swiftly sat me up on the counter, and then kissed my cheek before going to the fridge to pull out ingredients.

"Am I expected to stay here?" I asked.

"Yes, you are," he replied from inside the fridge.

"You seem to be in a really good mood, _darling_," I teased. He hated pet names.

He set the last thing he needed on the counter, and then fixed me with an amused look. "I am, _babe_," he grinned.

"Ugh! You win!"

He laughed, sounding truly happy, which continued to lighten my mood considerably.

"Why are you so happy?"

"Because my annoying sister is gone, and I've got my girlfriend, who I love very much, back in my empty apartment."

"I'm happy too," I said.

"Good, because I plan on keeping you happy all weekend. We don't have to do Sunday night dinner this weekend do we?"

"Nope, I asked Amelia this morning. She said it was fine with her if we skipped it this week, but you and I have to cook something really good next week."

"Sounds good to me."

"She also said that you should be expecting an apology from her. She said she called you a name when you came to the apartment that day, and she feels really bad about it now."

Eric just laughed, and continued to whisk some eggs.

"What did she call you?" I asked, purely from curiosity.

"I believe it was "no good piece of shit"," he said with a small smile.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry."

"It could have been worse. I am looking forward to seeing Amelia apologize though. I may need to bring a camera."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny."

"I thought so."

I finally took in all the food Eric had out on the counter. "Good lord, Eric. I'm not an elephant. How much food are you making?"

"A lot. I'll be eating a lot as well. I haven't had much of an appetite lately either, and now that I do, I feel like I'm starving. We'll both start eating well again, and soon you'll have all those soft curves back that I love so much."

"Oh, come on. You're telling me you don't like my slimmer figure?" Yes, I was still insecure about my body. Tell me what girl isn't.

"You're still beautiful, Sookie, and I'd love you no matter what, but I happen to love your curves. I love the way you fill out your jeans, and your tighter tops. I love holding onto your soft hips, and watching your beautiful breasts bounce when you ride me. I love the feel of your shapely thighs around my neck when my head is between your legs." As he spoke his voice got lower, and a different kind of hunger was making itself known in the form of a bulge in his pants. He had also come to stand in front of me, and was running his hands over the parts in question.

"Okay," I panted, "I get the point. I'll get my curves back."

"Good," he said abruptly, and then moved back to the stove to continue cooking.

Eric made a feast of cheesy scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, and toast. There was a lot of food, and we both ate right there in the kitchen. He jumped up on the counter next to me and we devoured our food side by side, our feet swinging together. I couldn't believe how much I ate. I really was hungry.

"See," Eric said when we were finished. "You'll have those curves back in no time."

I giggled, and then hopped off the counter to help him clean up. After that was all finished, we went to the living room to talk. He said he needed to ask me a couple of things. We got settled on the couch like we used to, me tucked under his arm, and then he began to speak.

"Did you listen to any of my voicemails?" He asked gently. I understood that he was making sure I knew that he wasn't trying to start anything; he just wanted to know some things he hadn't figured out yet. I was fine with that.

"No, I didn't," I said honestly, "I deleted them because I was afraid to listen to them."

"I'm relieved," he said as he let out a breath.

"Why?" I asked, turning to look up at him. "Did you say something bad?"

"I told you I loved you in the last one. I hadn't realized I had said it until after I hung up, but I knew it was true. That was part of what kept me from calling for so long. I thought that if you had listened to it, you would have been able to tell I wasn't lying, and if you didn't call me back after that, then maybe I should just leave you be. So in a way I'm happy to know that you hadn't heard that."

My heart ached at his confession. I wished I had listened to Gran. I should have called him that night.

"Eric, if I had heard that, I would have called you back. I know I would have. I'm sorry I didn't listen to them."

"Why didn't you exactly?"

"I was afraid. I thought you were calling me with a bunch of excuses, and I knew I couldn't take hearing you lie so I deleted them. I regret that now."

"Sookie, I don't think I've told you yet, so I will now," he paused.

"Told me what?" I asked.

He looked me right in the eyes, and then said, "I forgive you."

With his words I felt a weight lift from my heart. I think I knew that he would forgive me, but I really had needed to hear him say it. I could also see in his eyes that he really did forgive me.

I wrapped my arms around him, and held on tightly. "Thank you," I whispered. He hugged me to him just a bit tighter, and then released me.

"I have another question," he said.

"Okay," I said hesitantly. I wasn't sure what else he needed to know.

"Will you tell me what happened at the party with Bill before I got there?" He sounded concerned.

"Well, I went back to my room to change because someone spilled their drink on my shirt, and he followed me. He backed me into a corner, and was trying to talk me into giving him a blowjob. I refused, and he grabbed me, and that's when you came in."

"Why didn't you hit him? I've felt your punches when we wrestle around, and you punch really hard. You could've stunned him and then ran out of the room."

"I asked myself the same question while he was backing me into the corner. Just being near him again was making me feel all those old feelings again. I was worthless again."

"You are most definitely not worthless, Sookie. You never have been."

"I'm finally starting to realize that," I said as I grabbed his hand and squeezed.

He smiled, and then stood up.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Stay there," he said, and then walked down the hall and into his bedroom. He came back a couple of minutes later with an old-looking box.

"What is that?"

"Checkers," he said brightly.

"The game?"

"Of course. I haven't played in a while, and I got the urge. Will you play a few games with me?" He asked sweetly. I wanted to laugh, but there was something so innocent and sweet about his request that I just couldn't. Instead, I smiled and nodded. He sat on the floor on one side of the coffee table, and I slid off the couch and onto the floor on the other side. He set up the board, and I called red. He shot me a look that told me that he liked red, but I just shrugged and said, "I called it."

After twelve games of checkers, about five of which I actually won, my butt was numb from sitting on the floor. Eric laughed when I told him, and offered to rub it for me. I politely declined, and asked him if he wanted to watch a movie instead. I knew if he started rubbing my butt, we would end up doing something I was still a bit too stuffed to manage. He agreed to a movie, and put one in before joining me back up on the couch. When the movie started, I gasped.

"Casablanca!"

"Yes, are you satisfied with my choice?" He asked with a smirk.

"Of course," I said, and then snuggled into him.

About halfway into the movie, I began to notice that Eric was acting strangely. He was rubbing his cheek against my hair, and smelling it every now and then. His hand would slide up and down my arm in an absentminded way, and then squeeze me to him. When he started purring, yes purring, I pulled away from him and shot him a smirk.

"What?" He asked, looking really confused.

"When did you turn into a cat?"

He raised an eyebrow, "A cat?"

"Yes, you're rubbing up against me, and I swear you just started purring."

The other eyebrow rose, "Purring?"

"Don't look at me like that. You were the one doing it."

He laughed, and then pulled me back down next to him. "This is what I missed the most, having you near me, holding you, your scent. I never want to waste another opportunity to feel you. I guess my body agrees, because I had no idea I was doing it."

I didn't say anything, because I couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, I turned my head to kiss his cheek, and then snuggled back into his side. As we watched the rest of the movie, I thought about what he said, and I found it to be true for me as well. While sex with Eric was something I considered to be the best thing ever, along with funnel cake and movie musicals, I found that I missed simply being with him more. The little moments were the things I really found myself longing for. The feel of him, his scent, and the way he held me, the way he touched me. Before the movie was over we were both making little noises of satisfaction, but they weren't really sexual. I had begun doing the things he was doing. I ran my hand along his thigh, turned my head into his chest to breathe him in, and kissed the cleft in his chin. I was making him rumble in appreciation, and he was doing the same to me. When the movie ended, we sort of snapped back to reality, and began laughing.

"Eric can we go back to bed?" I asked, and he promptly raised an eyebrow. "Not for that," I said as I lightly slapped him on the knee, "I'm a bit tired, and thought a nap would be nice. I really just want to feel you next to me again."

He nodded and said, "Okay, let's go take a nap."

I smiled as he got up, and before I could get up too, he was scooping me up into his arms. I giggled like a smitten bride on her wedding night as he carried me back to the bedroom. He kicked the door closed with his foot, and then gently laid me down on the bed. As he pulled my shoes off he smiled up at me, and I smiled back. It all felt so right once more, and I never wanted to screw anything up again. He sat on the edge of the bed, pulled off his shoes, and then took both pairs to the corner. I giggled, because I had missed his OCD tendencies.

"What?" He asked as he came back to the bed.

"I just missed all those little things you do. They make me happy," I replied.

He chuckled as he climbed up on the bed, and as soon as he lay next to me, I snuggled into him. He wrapped an arm around me, and I laid my head on his chest. Our legs intertwined, and he began running his fingers through my hair. I drifted off to sleep, listening to the sound of him breathing, and I couldn't have felt more content.

I woke up about an hour later, and before I could take in anything my stomach growled. I laughed, and sat up, pulling myself out of Eric's warm embrace. He immediately stirred, and grabbed me to pull me back down to him.

"Still sleepy," he mumbled.

"I'm hungry," I whispered to him. "You can stay here, and I'll go make us something."

"No. You stay," he mumbled again. He was still half asleep. I giggled, and kissed his lips, knowing it would fully rouse him. It did. His eyes snapped open, and he tightened his grip on me. When he began to roll me under him, I pushed hard on his chest.

"Not until later, Eric. I'm hungry. Let's go eat, okay?"

"Fine," he grumbled.

We went to the kitchen, and Eric began to rummage through the contents of his fridge when I had a thought.

"Eric, have you ever had funnel cake?" I asked.

"No. What's funnel cake?" He asked as he straightened to look at me.

I gasped. I really freaking gasped. "Are you kidding me? You've _never_ had funnel cake? You never went to a fair or a carnival as a kid?"

He looked amused and confused, "No. My parents never took us to things like that."

My jaw was hanging open. "Okay, that's it. We're going to the store to get the stuff, and I am going to make you funnel cake. I don't even care that it's not healthy. You haven't lived until you've tried it."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe that was a bit dramatic, but I'm telling you, it's delicious. And today should be all about indulgence, right?"

He just stood there, smiling at me, so I grabbed his hand and led him back to the bedroom so we could get our shoes. As soon as they were on, I grabbed my purse, and we were out the door. I kept talking excitedly all the way to the store about funnel cake, and all the childhood memories I associated with it. Eric was still amused. He said I was probably talking it up too much, especially when we got to the store and I grabbed the boxed mix excitedly.

"This," he said as he took the box from me, "is what has you so excited? Really? It doesn't even look that good."

I snatched the box back from him. "Just you wait. Now, we need powdered sugar, vegetable oil, and a funnel."

"I have vegetable oil, but not the other two."

I nodded, and led him around the store looking for the items. When I found them, I got excited again, and became rather bouncy. I couldn't wait to see the look on Eric's face when he tried it. I paid for everything, though Eric tried to get out his wallet. The walk back seemed to take no time at all, and as soon as we were in the apartment, I made a beeline for the kitchen. I started pulling out everything I'd need, and got to work. I made Eric get a plate out and line it with paper towels, and then he stood by to watch while I made the cake. It didn't take more than ten minutes to make. I put it on the plate, flipped it once to get off the extra oil, and then I sifted powdered sugar over the top of it. I held the plate ceremoniously in front of Eric, but he just stared at me.

"Don't I need a fork?" He asked.

"No! Use your fingers," I giggled.

He tentatively reached out and tore some cake off with his fingers, then slowly put it to his mouth. He took a big bite and I waited giddily for his reaction. Slowly, he chewed, and the cutest smile I've ever seen adorned his features. His eyes got big, and after he swallowed he laughed.

"That is delicious!"

"I told you!"

He then took the whole plate from me, and sat on the counter to eat. I tried to reach for some, but he shot me a look and pulled the plate away.

"This one is mine," he said with a teasing glint in his eye, but I knew he was serious. "You make your own."

My jaw dropped, but I turned and made my own anyway. That one I made really big, and even more perfect than his. When it was done, Eric's was half finished. I topped mine with the sugar, and sat up on the counter next to him. The first bite was mouth-watering and so delicious.

"This is the best lunch ever," I said.

Eric grunted in agreement, and soon his cake was completely gone, and he was staring longingly at mine.

I giggled, "What's wrong, Eric? You don't expect me to share do you?"

"You can't hold me accountable for that. I had just tried something amazing for the first time, and it made me territorial. Sort of like my relationship with you," he mused.

"How so?" I asked as I took another bite. His eyes followed the motions of my hand from the plate to my mouth.

"Well, I have to admit that the thought of another man touching you makes me go all cave-man inside. It makes me want to grab you and mark my territory."

I shivered. The thought of Eric marking his territory on me made me unnaturally excited.

"So you feel the same way about me as you do about funnel cake?" I questioned.

He laughed, "I'm sorry, but it tasted so good, I didn't want anyone else's fingers on it."

I was pretty sure he wasn't just talking about the funnel cake. I gave him a seductive look and said, "You can put your fingers on mine," as I held the plate out to him. He smirked at me, and said, "Gladly," before tearing some off my plate.

We finished up my cake, and then cleaned up the kitchen. In my excitement to get Eric to try the cake, I made a bit of a mess with the powdered sugar. As I rinsed the last dish and put it in the strainer, I felt Eric behind me. I smiled as I turned around, and instantly his mouth was on mine. He tasted sweet from the sugar, and I eagerly kissed him back. He picked me up, and I immediately wrapped my legs around his waist. He never stopped kissing me all the way back to the bedroom. I finally detached when he laid me on the bed. He pulled off our shoes again, and put them in the corner. I watched his every move as he stripped his clothes off. He was so beautiful that I couldn't bring myself to move so that I could remove my own clothes. When he was finally naked in front of me, I wanted to cry out with joy. I was the luckiest woman in the universe.

He came over to the bed, and knelt beside me. I came up to my knees, and faced him. He stroked my cheek, and kissed me again, and then he slowly began pulling my clothes off piece by piece until I was naked as well.

"So beautiful," he whispered as he lowered his mouth to mine. Our kisses were slow and reverent, but they were still shooting waves of heat through me. He laid us down on the bed, and settled on top of me. The kisses grew more and more heated, and Eric began to kiss his way down my body. He paid special attention to my breasts, and groaned out that he had missed them dearly. When he finally got to my center, he gave me a long, meaningful look before his head dipped between my thighs.

Slowly, he used his tongue on me, probing my entrance with it, and then using it to tease my clit. Slow and steady was apparently his motto, as he was the same way when two of his long, talented fingers slid into me. My hands immediately tangled in his hair, and I tried to get him to increase the pressure, but he wouldn't. I wanted him to curl those delicious fingers at just the right spot, but he wouldn't. He was driving me mad.

"Eric, please," I panted. He rewarded me with a bit more pressure on my clit, and began to move his fingers faster. "Oh, yes," I moaned. He steadily increased his pressure and speed, and then he finally curled his fingers at just the right spot. I cried out in pleasure, but before I could find my release, he pulled his fingers from me, and came up to kiss me hard on the mouth. I greedily kissed him back, thoroughly enjoying the taste of myself on him.

As his hips settled between mine, he pulled back to look me in the eyes. I reached down between us and rubbed him along my folds a couple of times, and then I placed him right at my entrance.

"I love you," I whispered, because it didn't seem right to say anything loudly at that moment.

"I love you," he whispered back, and then slowly entered me. Despite the pleasure we both felt, and the desire to just go at it in a frenzied pace, we kept it slow. We stared into each other's eyes, and I finally understood the term making love. That's exactly what we were doing. Eric was making love to me, and I wanted to cry, but that would be too cliché, right? I desperately held back my tears, and kissed him. I filled the kiss with all the love I could put into it, and he did the same. As we kissed, I began to feel as though I was about to explode with pleasure. Eric was deep inside me, and was rocking his hips against me, rubbing my sensitive clit with each motion. I broke the kiss, and wrapped my arms around him. Desperate whimpers escaped my mouth, and I felt myself begin to tighten around him. He groaned, and that single sound pushed me over the edge. I clung tightly to him as I came, feeling it in every part of my body. He stiffened above me, and his hips jerked a couple of times as he had his release. I smiled as I felt the heat of it inside me, and was glad we were finally being intimate with each other on this level.

Eric slowly pulled out of me, and then lay down beside me with his back against the headboard. I sat up with him, and laid my head on his chest. His hand brushed my hair from my face, and he kissed my forehead.

"That was…" he began, but seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I know," I said.

We had been silent for a few minutes when a memory hit me. The happiness I felt at the realization it gave me made me want to cry.

"Eric?"

"Hmm?"

"I have something to tell you."

"I'm all ears."

I took his hand, and pressed my palm against his. I noticed how much smaller my hand was compared to his. I brought our touching hands out in front of us so I would have something to focus on as I spoke.

"When I was a kid, my Gran told me something that I hadn't remembered until now." I traced the outline of his large hand with my finger as I spoke. "She said that a good relationship stands on three legs. Those three legs are named love, trust, and compromise. Without one you can still stand, but it's harder." My finger had now moved on to tracing the lines on his palm. "I feel whole with you, and I know it's because we have all three. I love you. I trust you. Because of that I know I can compromise with you if need be." I knotted our fingers together, and he squeezed my hand lightly. I finally looked into his eyes and said, "I trust you, Eric."

"I know," he said simply, but meaningfully, and then he kissed me. With that kiss I knew that he really did know, and that lifted the final weight from my shoulders. Another thought entered my head, and I broke the kiss.

"I can't believe I forgot! Hold on," I said as I jumped out of the bed, pulled on Eric's sweater, and went to retrieve my bag from the living room. I rummaged through it as I walked back to the bedroom, and with an, "Aha!" I pulled a box from the bag, and got back up on the bed.

"What's that?" He asked.

"It's your Christmas present," I said. "I bought it a few weeks before Christmas, and I think you should still have it, even though it's late."

He smiled as I handed it to him, and then set it down. "I've got yours here too," he said as he got up, walked to the dresser naked, and pulled something out of the top drawer. He came back to the bed and handed it to me. It was a small, flat box, wrapped in that cartoon-y Santa paper.

"Open yours first," I told him. He didn't argue, and tore open the paper of his present. I closely watched his face as he opened the box, and was very pleased with the look I found there.

"Thor's Hammer?! Sookie, this is great!" He pulled the necklace out, and put it on immediately. "I love it. Thank you." He kissed me so sweetly, I thought I'd melt, and then he pulled back and gestured to my box.

I began to rip open the paper, and realized from looking at the box that it was some sort of jewelry. When I opened the box, I gasped. It was a beautiful necklace. I pulled it out to look at it, and was surprised at how old it looked, as though it was an heirloom or something. It had a long, thin silver chain, and on the end was a beautiful flower pendant made of diamonds. My eyes widened when I realized they must be real. I looked up at him, but I couldn't speak.

"Yes, they're real. It was my aunt's necklace. Before she went back to Sweden, she gave it to me. She described the type of girl who should wear it, and when I came across it again recently, I realized that you are that girl. I wanted to give it to you right away, but I knew you wouldn't take it just because, so I decided to give it to you for Christmas."

My eyes welled up, and the tears spilled out freely. "Eric," I croaked out, "are you sure?"

He nodded, and kissed each of my wet cheeks. "Yes, I'm sure. It could never belong to anyone else."

He took it from me, and then put it around my neck. The pendant stopped just above the swell of my breasts, and Eric took the opportunity to kiss me there. I put my hands on either side of his face, and kissed him on the lips.

"I love it, Eric. It's beautiful."

After a moment, we decided to get up and go make some supper. I stayed in Eric's sweater, and he put on a pair of flannel pajama pants. When we got to the kitchen, I started laughing. Eric turned around, looking rather confused.

"What?" He asked.

"We _are_ perfect together. We gave each other the same present."

He laughed with me, and then pulled me to him. "What do you think? Should we just order pizza?" To put some emphasis on why he wanted to do such a thing, he picked me up, and put me on the counter, effortlessly stepping between my legs, and pressing himself against me.

"I think that sounds like a plan, but what are we going to do until it gets here?" I asked with feigned ignorance.

He smirked, and then stepped away to call in an order. I was too busy being really excited for what was to come to listen to what he ordered. He hung up the phone, and came back to his previous position.

"We have thirty minutes. I can think of a few things," he said huskily, and then he showed me just what he was talking about.

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**Alrighty then! The angst is now fully resolved! *sighs happily***

**Thank you very much to my beta goddess FDM! She's fudgeawesome and without her, I don't think any of my stories would have gone very far. *hugs FDM tight***

**I want to take a moment to thank all of my readers for leaving reviews. This story has now surpassed 1,000 reviews, and I can't even begin to describe how happy that made me. I really don't feel like I deserve it...like at all, so ya'll made me really, really happy. Thank you so, so much! *bear hugs all her reviewers and passes out candy***

***wipes happy tear away***

**Okay, I'm off to work on WDMC some more. Love ya'll!**


	23. Sex, Ideas, and Tickling

**Okay, we're jumping forward in time here, but just to the end of the semester so don't kill me. I want to thank Sunkisz and Stealingdreams for giving me some encouragement when I was worried about the time jump. Ya'll are the best. **

**Big thank you to FDM for betaing this and doing it so quickly! You rock my socks!**

**I want to dedicate this to Kristin0109. Homegirl is all laid up on bedrest, and fanfic is keeping her sane. Keep that little guy cooking, and I'll make sure you've got something to read :) **

* * *

Chapter 23

The rest of the semester passed quickly for Sookie and me. After we finally resolved our issues, we continued to grow closer. I knew without a doubt that she was able to trust me now. She talked to me about Bill a couple of times, and explained more about how she was feeling when that whole disaster happened. I was able to help her work through it, and because of that, we became stronger. She did have off days when something would remind her of Bill and how worthless he made her feel. I didn't blame her one bit. As much as she knew she wasn't worthless, there would always be things that reminded her of feeling that way. Those would be the nights that she would stay with me. I would hold her, and we would talk about our future plans together. I wanted to take Sookie to Sweden with me. I wanted her with me when I visited my Aunt's grave. She was the only one who really seemed to understand my relationship with her. Not even Pam fully got it.

We had quickly slipped back into our routine. Sookie stayed over more frequently, and planned to spend even more time with me during the summer. She was going to be working more shifts at the restaurant so that she could have more spending money. This also meant she would be working more night shifts. I wasn't thrilled at the idea, but I couldn't stop her. I knew she could take care of herself, and not only that, I asked if she would be okay with me coming in at the end of her shift to take her home like Tray did with Amelia. She told me she was fine with that, and was also pleased that I asked her instead of just doing it.

Our last day of classes was Friday, and it was now Sunday. Sookie and I were supposed to make Sunday night dinner, and I was on my way there. When I got to the door I heard some raised voices. I knocked twice before Sookie flung the door open, and walked away. Immediately I felt a pang of fear that she was angry with me for something, but that subsided quickly when I hear what sounded like Amelia crying. I shut the door, and then went into the living room, where the cries were coming from.

Amelia was sitting on the couch, curled up into Tray, crying her eyes out. Sookie was kneeling at her feet trying to comfort her.

"What happened?" I asked.

Amelia cried a bit harder, and Sookie tried to soothe her more. Tray was the one to answer me.

"I have to go back to Bon Temps for the summer."

"What happened to moving in here?"

"Amelia's dad found out because we were adding another person, and he said that if I move in, he'll stop paying for the apartment, and he'll stop paying for college."

"I thought he liked you."

"He does. He doesn't have a problem with me; he's just a bit old-fashioned. He thinks that if I move in, Amelia and I will have pre-marital sex, and she'll end up pregnant."

"Wow…" I was at a loss for words. "Bon Temps isn't that far, can't you still see each other?"

"I'd have to get a job back home, and Amelia will be working here. I'm the only one with a car. It just comes down to the fact that she and I have never gone a day without seeing each other since we've been together. It's going to hurt being apart."

I went to sit next to Sookie on the floor. She had tears in her eyes, but she wasn't crying. I felt bad for them, but I really didn't know what to do. After a few minutes, Amelia said she just wanted to be alone with Tray, and wondered if we could skip dinner. Sookie and I both agreed, and went back to my place.

"Are you okay?" I asked when we got inside.

"I just feel so bad for them. They really haven't ever gone a day without seeing each other, and now they have to go three months. I'm sure they'll see each other some, but it'll be really, really hard on them. We just can't see any way out of it."

I fixed us a quick supper, and we tried to watch a movie for a while, but Sookie was too bothered by what was happening with Amelia and Tray to really pay attention. I also knew it meant I wasn't getting any. Or so I thought. After we crawled into bed, Sookie began kissing me, and completely initiated the sex. She said she couldn't imagine being apart from me for that long, never knowing when she'd see me again. She wanted to feel me. I made love to her, and she fell asleep afterward, with a content look on her face, so I felt I'd done my job.

I couldn't fall asleep as she had though. Something was bothering me. I think it was when Sookie said she wouldn't want to be apart from me for that long. I stared at her sleeping form next to me. She was so beautiful like that. She lay there naked, the sheet only covering her up to her waist; her golden hair sprawled out across the pillow. I wondered if this was how Tray felt when Amelia was sleeping next to him. It hit me that I wouldn't like it if Sookie had to go back to Bon Temps for the summer. I wouldn't be able to take it if I couldn't see her every day. The only time we had spent apart was when we were split up those few weeks, but I would imagine that it would be worse knowing the other person wanted desperately to be with you, but just couldn't. Being separated by space, but together emotionally would really frustrate a person. I knew I wouldn't want that to happen with Sookie and me.

I had to find an answer to this problem. I didn't want Amelia or Tray to suffer, but more selfishly, I didn't want it to affect Sookie and me, and I knew it would. Sookie would want to spend as much time with Amelia as she could to keep her mind off the separation, which would mean less time for Sookie and me. I wanted everyone to be happy. I knew I wouldn't get any sleep until I figured it out, so I carefully got out of bed, and went to the kitchen for some water. I leaned against the counter while I drank, and tried to come up with a solution. If only Tray could find some place to live nearby. That's when it hit me. I had a spare bedroom, so why couldn't Tray live with me? Sure, I loved living alone, but it's not like he would be spending all his time here. I would have to invest in a robe instead of walking around naked like I preferred. The nights Sookie stayed over wouldn't be a problem, because Tray could just go stay with Amelia. It was perfect. It solved everything, really. Amelia and Tray would be happy because he wouldn't have to go back to Bon Temps. Sookie would be happy because her friend was happy, and I would be happy because everyone else was happy. Hell, if it worked out okay over the summer, Tray didn't even need to go back to the dorms when school started again. I didn't think anyone would have any objections to it.

"Eric?" Sookie's tired voice broke me from my musings.

"Yeah, in the kitchen," I called out to her. I hated that she woke up without me there. I had no idea how she'd react to that. She emerged from the hall in my sweater, and gave me a concerned look.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she walked up to me, and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"I was trying to think of a way to fix all this stuff with Amelia and Tray, and I couldn't sleep, so I came out here for some water," I told her as I ran my fingers through her hair.

"Did you come up with anything?"

"I think I might have. How would you feel about Tray moving in with me?"

She lifted her head from my chest, and looked at me with mild shock. "Are you serious? You love living alone."

"I am serious. I know I like living alone, but that's just because I like the way I do things. It's not going to kill me to wrap a towel around my waist after a shower, or put on a pair of boxers to walk through the place. I'm sure I'll have to compromise with Tray on some things, and I can do that. Do you think he'll go for it?"

She smiled brightly up at me. "This is why I love you. It's so sweet of you to think of Amelia and Tray like that, and to come up with a perfect solution. I'm sure they'll both be happy to hear it." She stretched up to kiss me, and when she broke away she said, "But don't go thinking I don't see that there's good in this for you too."

"What… I don't know what you're talking about."

She giggled, and then kissed me again. "Don't worry about it. I just know that you looked at this from all angles, and probably figured out that if Tray left, our time together would have decreased as well. I know that's not the only reason you came up with this solution though. Actually it feels nice that you were thinking of us too."

"So it's a good thing?"

"Yes, a very good thing. Now, come back to bed. I need you to keep me warm," she said as she took me by the hand, and began to lead me back to the bedroom. I took some initiative though, and swiftly picked her up. She giggled again as I carried her back to the bedroom.

"Should I put the flannel on?" I teased.

"I think you can keep me warm with what you're wearing."

"But, I'm not wearing anything," I said innocently.

She giggled again. "I know."

"I love you, Sookie."

"You know what I love?" She asked as I climbed on top of her.

"Hmm…"

"I love that I don't have any clothes to rip off of you. I'm going to miss you walking around naked."

"Then we should make the most of this time, shouldn't we?"

She moaned, and then ground her hips against me. I groaned, and after checking that she was ready, I thrust myself into her.

"Yes, Eric!" She cried out. She was going to be vocal this time, which I loved. There's nothing quite like the sweet sound of making the woman you love call your name in pleasure. It was definitely a confidence builder, that was for sure. I loved the powerful feeling I got as she begged me to give her release while I was thrusting into her, feeling all of her. Getting rid of the condoms had turned out to be a wonderful thing. I didn't have to take the time to get one and put it on anymore, and after experiencing the feel and heat of her without one, I could safely say I never wanted to use them again.

Sookie clung tightly to me as I rode her, and then she suddenly told me to stop and pushed back on my shoulders.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" I asked, concerned.

"No, I just want to be on top," she said shyly. I grinned, and in one swift movement I positioned us so that Sookie could be the one doing to riding. She giggled at the movement, and peeled my sweater off her body. She knew how much I enjoyed seeing her beautiful breasts move in this position. I propped myself up on my elbows for a kiss, which she happily gave, and then started to grind herself against me. I groaned into her mouth, and then fell back to the pillows. My hands ran up and down her beautiful body. She had gotten her curves back, and I had definitely missed them. She had the body of an ancient goddess, and she didn't even realize it. My eyes gazed at her face. Her eyes were clenched shut in ecstasy, and she was moaning my name repeatedly. I reached up and massaged her firm, yet soft breasts, then rolled her nipples between my fingers, which caused her to increase her speed slightly. My hands craved more of her body, and moved down her sides to rest on her hips and then reach around to squeeze her ass. She appreciated that too. I put my hands back on her hips, and she slowed down a bit, allowing me to angle her just right so I could hit her g-spot. I hit it a few times, and then let her finish us off. She rose and fell faster and faster, and just when I didn't think I could hold on any longer she tightened around me.

"Oh my god," she screamed as she came. The feel of her pulsing around me triggered my own release. My hips bucked, and I made a sharp sound as I spilled into her. She continued to ride me slowly through my release, and didn't stop until our highs subsided. She collapsed on top of me, and immediately started giggling.

"What?" I asked.

She giggled harder, so I began tickling her sides, which broke her into full-out laughter. I rolled her under me, slipping out of her in the process, and kept tickling her.

"St..stop…" she laughed, as she tried to swat away my hands.

"What's that, Sookie? I can't hear you over all the giggling," I said as I continued to tickle her.

"Eric…if you… if you don't stop…" she managed to get out between giggles. I was relentless, and refused to let up. She was so beautiful like this; completely naked, and laughing like there was nothing else in the world but the two of us. I was so distracted, I wasn't paying attention to her hands, and one of them did the only thing that could have made me stop at that moment. Her small hand wrapped around my now rapidly hardening cock. I immediately groaned, and stopped tickling her. She used the opportunity to quickly remove herself from the bed. I tried to grab her, but ended up face first on the mattress.

"That was not cool, Sookie," I said as she giggled.

"Were you going to stop any other way?" She asked.

"Probably not, but now we have a problem."

"What might that be?"

I shifted to sit up against the headboard, and she saw exactly what I was talking about. Then she giggled… again.

"It's not funny, Sookie."

"I _still_ don't understand how you get hard again that fast. You'd think with all the sex we have…" she trailed off as she crawled up on the bed. She traced my lips with her finger and said, "Don't pout, Eric. I'll make it better." Then with a wicked grin, she began to kiss her way down my body, and proceeded to make everything much better indeed. Afterwards, I returned the favor with vigor, and then we both fell asleep, thoroughly satisfied.

SPOV

I woke up late the next morning, and immediately freaked out. Eric and I had stayed up so late making each other happy, that we slept in until almost noon. Tray was going to leave that afternoon.

"Eric, wake up," I said as I smacked him on the shoulder.

"Ow! Sookie? What the hell?"

"Get up! It's almost noon, and Tray was going to leave today! We have to get over there to tell them!" I jumped off the bed, and started throwing on clothes.

"Sookie, stop. Calm down," Eric said as he came to stand behind me. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. "Ever heard of a cell phone?" He asked. "We'll just call them and make sure Tray stays for a bit longer. We'll take a shower, and then go over there."

He had a point, and we really did need a shower after all our activity the night before. I took a deep, calming breath, and then turned in his arms to hug him.

"Good idea. I'll call Amelia while you get the shower ready, okay?"

He nodded, and walked off to the bathroom while I went to the living room to get my cell. Amelia answered right away, wondering why I wasn't there to see Tray off yet. I told her not to let him leave before I could say goodbye, and that we'd be there soon. I wanted to tell her that Eric had come up with a solution, but I knew she'd freak out and want details, so I didn't go into it. After I got off the phone with her, I headed back to the bathroom to find Eric already in the shower.

I smiled as I remembered the first time Eric realized we could do it in the shower. He got so excited that it was the only place he wanted to do it all day. He even got one of those mats to put in the bottom of the shower so he wouldn't slip while holding me against the wall. The water often ran cold before we actually finished showering.

I stripped off the clothes I had thrown on, which consisted of my jeans and Eric's sweater. I couldn't believe I was really going to go over to our apartment looking like that. I pulled back the shower curtain, and stepped into the tub. Eric turned and bent to give me a kiss.

"Everything okay then?" He asked.

I smiled, "Yes, it's okay. He won't leave until we get there."

Eric smiled back, and then moved to let me under the spray. He washed my hair for me, and again, it was one of those times where there was nothing sexual about it. I loved it when we were like this; just taking care of each other.

After we finished showering, we dressed quickly, and headed over to my apartment. I asked Eric once more on the walk over if he was absolutely sure he wanted to do this.

"I'm positive, Sookie. Amelia and Tray are my friends as well, and I want to see them happy. I'm willing to mess up my routine a bit. I'll just make a new one. As long as I have you, I'm good."

That was good enough for me. I stretched up on my toes to kiss him, and then said, "I love you so much for this."

He chuckled, and put his arm around me, and then we continued on our way to my apartment building. We found Amelia and Tray outside. Tray had Amelia pinned against his car, and they were kissing like they'd never see each other again. We stood there staring at them for a minute before I finally cleared my throat. They jumped, and then broke apart.

"Off in your own little world?" I asked with a smirk.

"Oh shut it," Amelia said. "Just tell Tray goodbye so we don't drag this out any longer than we have to."

"Actually, I need you two to come inside. Eric and I have something to tell you."

They looked confused, but followed us in anyway. As soon as we were all seated in the living room, we began explaining it to them.

"I've come up with a solution for this situation. Sookie thinks it's a good idea, and I hope you both will agree," Eric began. Amelia and Tray had perked up a bit, and were listening intently. Eric grinned, and then continued. "I have a spare bedroom, and I thought if Tray came to live with me…" He didn't get to finish his sentence because Amelia bolted off the chair and enveloped him in a tight hug.

"Oh my god! Thank you, thank you," she repeated over and over. I sat by and giggled, as I watched Eric sit there with Amelia attached to him. His arms were sort of out like he was afraid to touch her, but eventually he awkwardly patted her on the back. After she said thank you fifty times, Amelia abruptly stood up, and turned to face Tray.

"Tell him you'll move in with him," she demanded. There was a twinkle of amusement in Tray's eyes as he looked at her. Then he turned to Eric.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" He asked, and as soon as the question was out of his mouth, Amelia let out a frustrated growl.

"Yes, it was my idea, and the offer is there should you choose to take it," Eric said.

Tray nodded once, stood up, and then said, "Okay."

Amelia squealed and jumped on him. They began kissing vigorously, and Tray began inching back towards the bedroom. They obviously wanted to reconnect after almost being separated, which was good for them, but a bit awkward for Eric and me.

Eric stood up. "I suppose we'll go over the particulars later," he hollered down the hall as Amelia's door slammed shut. He chuckled, and then grabbed my hand and pulled me up off the couch. "Let's go get some breakfast."

"That sounds wonderful," I said, and followed him out of the apartment just as we began hearing noises come up the hall.

"You weren't lying when you said they were loud," Eric laughed.

"I'm glad they are though. If they were quiet or had no sex life, I probably wouldn't have gone to the library every day, and you know where that led us."

"Remind me to do something really nice for them."

I smiled up at him, "I think you just did."

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***giggles* Yup, I'm being all giggly about this story again. Sue me. *giggles more***

**Thank you so much to everyone who reads and reviews this story and puts it in their favorties or on alert. I really appreciate all the love! *hugs***


	24. Moving Day and Swedish Lemons

**Hello there everyone! I know it's been a while, but I finally got this done. It's a short, transitional chapter, but it has a hot lemon :) Next, I'll be working on my contest fic entry, then WDMC.**

**Things you need to know: There is a brief appearance in the beginning here from Cat and Bones, two characters from the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. I highly reccomend the series. It's a great story, it's well-written, and the characters are a hoot! Their appearance in this chapter is the only one they'll make, so don't worry about this becoming a crossover or anything, and you don't need to have read the books or anything. Just know that Bones is a vamp (they can walk in the day), and Cat is a half-vamp(it's actually cool in these books) and she's really strong. I wrote their cameo for the girls at the Sookieverse, and I really hope they like it!**

**Big, huge thanks to FDM, my beta goddess for getting this back to me so quickly! It was sitting pretty in my inbox when I woke up about 30 minutes ago, so I decided to get it out to ya'll before I went to work. **

**Anyhoo...read on...**

* * *

Chapter 24

"Are you kidding me?" I asked in disbelief. "It's all done? Are you two on crack?"

All of Tray's things had just been moved into my apartment in about fifteen minutes. The movers were Tray's cousin Cat, and her boyfriend Bones. What the hell kind of name was Bones anyway? He even had bleach-blonde hair like a Spike wannabe. Tray called his mother the day before to tell her that he was moving in with me, but would be coming to pick up his large furniture that he didn't bring to college with him. His mother told him that his cousin was in town, and had a truck, so she would just bring it on her way through town. That sounded good to all of us, and we focused on cleaning out my spare bedroom and getting Tray's car unpacked.

Then, about twenty minutes ago his cousin showed up with her boyfriend and all of Tray's stuff. We're talking a bed frame, two mattresses, a dresser, a desk, and an entertainment center, not to mention a lot of boxes filled with god knows what. Sookie and I were introduced to them, and then offered to go pick up some pizza so we could all eat before we began moving things since the four of us hadn't eaten much all day. Now we were back with the pizza, but Cat's truck was empty. We went inside, put the pizzas in the kitchen, and then found them all in Tray's room, where Cat and Bones were adjusting the bed.

"We're just fast movers, that's all," Cat said as she lifted the end of the bed and angled it just right against the wall. She dropped it, and then turned to face me. "I'm also a farmer. Builds muscles and all that." I finally noticed that she had the strangest gray eyes. I'd never seen gray eyes before. There was something different about her, but I couldn't place it, and I wasn't sure I wanted to.

"What's his excuse?" I asked, gesturing to Bones, who was setting Tray's huge television set on the entertainment center as though it didn't weigh anything. He wasn't even straining.

"Don't have one," he said. Fucker had an English accent. I could practically see Sookie go weak in the knees at the sound of it. When we met him, he had just nodded, so this was the first time we'd heard it. I suddenly remembered that Sookie was a Spike fan… Not that we watched the show or anything. It didn't escape my notice that this must be like a dream come true for her. The possessive side of me flared up, and I put my arm around her. Bones seemed to notice the effect he had on Sookie, and kept talking. "Feeling a little woozy, luv? I'm sure your big Viking here will take good care of you," he said, gesturing to me. At least he recognized my heritage. That was nice of him.

"Hmm?" Sookie said sounding dazed. "Oh, Eric. Yes," she said, and leaned into me, putting her arm around my back as she did.

Bones chuckled, and Cat slapped him on the arm. "Enough messing around, we need to get going. Spade's waiting on us."

Spade? What was it with all the weird names? Who names their kid Spade?

"Yes, Kitten, I know," he replied. He called her Kitten? She didn't look like the type to go for a pet name like that, but she didn't seem to care. "Best be off. It was nice meeting you Sookie," he said, and nodded at her, then at me, "Viking."

"It's Eric," I said.

"Right, I like Viking better," he said with an amused tone.

"Thanks for bringing my stuff down, Cat," Tray interjected, and moved to hug his cousin.

"No problem," she said.

"Thanks to you too, Bones. I really appreciate it," he told Bones, and patted him on the shoulder.

"It was nothing, mate. Mind if we take one of those pizzas? Cat's going to be hungry soon."

"Yeah, sure, you both must be hungry after all that work. Take whichever one you want."

We followed them out to the kitchen and watched Bones peek into all the pizza boxes, before picking one out of the pile. "Thanks for this," he said, holding up the pizza box. "We'll be off now."

"Bye, Tray," Cat said, and then they were gone.

"Huh," I grunted when the door closed. "Those two are…unique."

Tray laughed, "Yeah, Cat's always been interesting. Probably gets it from her mom. That's the first time I've met Bones though. Strange guy. Anyway, let's eat! I'm starving."

We all settled in to eat, and after we finished Amelia and Tray went to his room to unpack, but soon enough, there were sounds of them christening it instead. Sookie and I made a hasty retreat back to her apartment. As soon as the door shut behind us, she turned to me and slammed me back against it. I'm not going to lie; I was turned on. She pressed her body against me in the most delicious way.

"I'm sorry," she said, shocking the hell out of me. Was she supposed to be sorry for something? There was nothing I could remember at the moment, so I pulled her against me even more, and bent to kiss her neck. She let out a low moan, and then continued talking. "Eric, I'm sorry about what happened back there. I've never really heard a man with an accent before in person, and you know I'm a Spike fan…"

Oh… that's what she was sorry for. I pulled back to look at her, but kept her pressed firmly against me. She kept talking.

"I know you noticed how it affected me, and I want you to know that you have nothing to fear from any other man. Hell, I don't even fantasize about anyone but you…"

"Is there a point you're trying to get to here, Sookie?" I asked.

"Well, I know you've told me before that you speak Swedish…"

I was really confused, and had no idea what she was getting at. "Yes, I can," I said.

"Wouldyoudoitforme?" She said so fast I had trouble understanding her.

"Speak Swedish?"

She blushed, and nodded, and I finally got it. Sookie was turned on by a man with an accent. Because I was raised in America, I didn't really have an accent, but I was taught the language from an early age, so I was fluent in it. This could be fun.

"Ska jag tala så här?" I asked. Her blush deepened, and she shivered, but her eyes filled with pure lust. Oh yes, this was going to be really, really fun.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"Sookie, if you're going to make me stop and translate everything, this isn't going to work," I smirked.

She smiled, "Then keep talking."

I bent at my knees a bit, and picked her up from the waist. She immediately wrapped her legs around me, and I slowly walked us back to her bedroom. I whispered in Swedish to her the whole way, and by the time we got to her room, I could feel the heat emanating from her. I also quickly realized that I couldn't keep saying the mundane phrases I had been whispering to her. I couldn't use that much brain power, and still be concentrated on the beautiful woman in front of me. I set her down on the bed, and then lay next to her on my side. She turned to me, and ran her fingers through my hair. I had finally gotten contacts, so we didn't have to worry about my glasses anymore, although Sookie still liked for me to wear them sometimes.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked.

"Anything," she replied, the lust still evident in her eyes.

"Jag vill ha dig," I said, "Jag vill ha dig mer än jag någonsin velat något."

Sookie not knowing what I was saying was almost freeing in a way. I could say things I wasn't ready to actually tell her, but saying them out loud, even if in another language, made me feel better.

"Jag har älskat dig sedan du kysste mig utanför din lägenhet byggnaden när jag försökte be om ursäkt."

I know she didn't understand what I had said, but my emotion must have shown, because her lust seemed to soften, and then she brushed her lips lightly against mine. I pressed my lips fully against hers, and pulled her body into mine. Her tongue sought entrance to my mouth, and I happily granted it. We kissed slowly for a while, enjoying being close to one another for a while. Eventually Sookie pulled away and I saw that her lustful look had returned.

"Say something else," she requested.

I had decided while we were kissing, that I could try out talking dirty with her like this. Tray told me that girls love it, and I'll admit that I had a few fantasies where I was the dominant and vocal party.

"Jag har fantasier om att ta dig i biblioteket på våra skrivbord," I said slowly, drawing out the words. "Jag böjer dig över toppen av den och ta dig bakifrån."

"Oh god Eric. I don't know what you're saying, but fuck me is it ever hot," she breathed.

Oh, if only she knew. I tangled my hand in her hair, and pulled her roughly to me once more. This time, our kissing was needful and urgent. Her leg was between mine, and she ground it against my rapidly growing erection. I groaned, and rolled her underneath me. My lips trailed down to her neck, where I kissed, nibbled, and sucked before taking them even lower. When they met the fabric of her shirt, I sat up to take the offending garment off of her, and then quickly removed her bra.

"Du har den mest magnifika brösten," I said, and then lowered my mouth to them. A moan escaped her lips instantly. I spent a good amount of time there before traveling even lower. My hands paused at the button of her jeans. I wanted her to ask for it.

"Why are you stopping?" She asked.

"Do you want me to continue?" I asked, switching back to English. She actually looked disappointed.

"Yes."

"Tell me." I saw the lust in her ignite to a full out blaze. So, Sookie liked men who could speak another language and a bit of dominance in bed from time to time. I was learning all sorts of things, and my brain was absorbing them well.

"Eric, please. I need you to continue," she said breathlessly. I captured her lips again, and slowly unfastened her jeans. I sat up again to pull them off, and made sure to take her underwear with them. I took my shirt off as well, and then settled myself back on top of her.

"Du är så vacker," I whispered. My lips found hers again, and she kissed me hungrily while grinding herself against me again. I pressed against her, and she groaned into my mouth. I removed my lips from hers, and began kissing my way down her body. I stopped just above her short golden curls, and then went further down to nibble on her thigh. When I switched to the other one, I blew cold air across her center, which caused her hips to buck.

"Eric…" she moaned shakily.

"What do you need, Sookie?" I asked, and began nibbling and kissing the other thigh.

"I need your mouth on me," she said, her voice more steady with her assurance.

I moved to her center again. She was already glistening with her arousal, and I could feel heat coming from her. I put her legs up over my shoulders, and then began to taste her. She was delicious, as always.

"Du smakar så gott," I groaned out, causing her to moan. When I put my mouth on her again, I swear she was even wetter than before. I took my time with her, never giving her exactly what she wanted until she asked for it, and once she did, never letting her come.

"Ohfortheloveof…" she exclaimed when I let her get really close, but backed off quickly.

"Tell me, Sookie," I said.

"Fuck me, Eric. Make me come," she demanded. It was all I needed to hear. I had my pants off in seconds, and found my place above her once more.

"Jag älskar dig," I whispered as I entered her in one swift thrust. She thrust her hips to meet mine, and moaned loudly. "Jag älskar hur du känner dig runt mig," I grunted as I thrust into her.

"Oh my god," she breathed, and held onto my arms tightly. I stopped speaking for the moment, and concentrated on actions instead. Her legs were wrapped around me, and she was keeping up with my pace as I thrust into her faster and faster. I focused on angling her hips just right so I could hit just the right spot inside her, and every time I did, I felt her clench around me. She was so close, and I was too. I knew just what would push her over the edge.

"Kom till mig, älskare."

The reaction was instant. She seemed to want to scream, but couldn't. Her walls clenched around me, and pulsed, which set off my own powerful release. I thrust into her as deep as I could get, and shuddered as she rocked her hips, pulling every last drop I had. I managed to collapse beside her, instead of on top of her, and tried to slow my breathing.

"Eric…" she said quietly.

"I know. We've hit a new best," I replied.

"That's for sure. Do you think we'll ever top it?"

I rolled to my side to face her, and she did the same. I ran my fingers through her damp hair, and kissed her forehead.

"We will most definitely top it."

She laughed that sweet, happy laugh of hers; the one that I loved. I wrapped my arms around her, and held her to me. After we had calmed down considerably, and were finally breathing normally again, we headed for the shower. Amelia and Tray hadn't shown back up yet, and I truly hoped they weren't christening every surface in the apartment. I needed to get Tray alone to lay some ground rules.

After our shower, Sookie and I went back to her room to lie down. Since our friends still hadn't come over, we assumed they were staying the night at my apartment. We both knew it wouldn't work doing things like this, so we'd all have to figure out sleepover arrangements. Amelia and Tray didn't sleep together every night, and neither did Sookie and I, but we did need to figure out who would be staying where, and work out some kind of schedule. My routine was already being thrown off, and my brain was going into overdrive planning, and organizing.

"Stop thinking," Sookie's sleepy voice said next to me.

"What?"

"I know that look. You're freaking out because everything is out of whack. Just give it a day or two, and things will be more normal. I start working evenings tomorrow, so we'll have that to contend with as well."

I had forgotten about her working evenings sometimes now. She said she could make more money, and she was trying to save for a car. I didn't have a problem with her working; I just didn't care for the shift. Tray had told me about the kind of guys Amelia had to deal with, and even though I knew Sookie could handle herself, it still made me uneasy to let her walk home alone.

"Would you mind if I came to pick you up from work when you get off?"

"Why? Did you have something planned?"

"No, I meant every night, like Tray does with Amelia. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm just nervous about that part of town at night. So, if it's okay with you, I'd like to walk you home when your shift ends."

"Of course that's okay, Eric. I can handle myself, and I know that you know it, but it would be nice to have you there. Thank you for asking first, though."

I smiled, and kissed her; thankful that she understood where I was coming from. We snuggled into each other, and just as I began to drift away, I heard Sookie speak.

"Is there any chance you're going to tell me what you said in Swedish?" She asked, sleepily, but I could tell she was smiling.

"Maybe someday," I whispered, and then sleep took me under.

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***fans self***

**Okay, here are the translations for what he's saying. I know they're not perfect, I just used the google translator. **

**"Ska jag tala så här?" [You want me to speak like this]**

**"Jag vill ha dig. Jag vill ha dig mer än jag någonsin velat något." [I want you. I want you more than I have ever wanted anything]**

**"Jag har älskat dig sedan du kysste mig utanför din lägenhet byggnaden när jag försökte be om ursäkt." [I have loved you since you kissed me outside your apartment building when I was trying to apologize]**

**"Jag har fantasier om att ta dig i biblioteket på våra skrivbord," [I have fantasies about taking you in the library on our desk] **

**"Jag böjer dig över toppen av den och ta dig bakifrån." [I bend you over the top of it, and take you from behind.]**

**"Du har den mest magnifika brösten," [You have the most magnificent breasts]**

**"Du är så vacker," [You are so beautiful]**

**"Du smakar så gott," [you taste so good]**

**"Jag älskar dig," [I love you]**

**"Jag älskar hur du känner dig runt mig," [I love the way you feel around me.]**

**"Kom till mig, älskare." [Come for me, lover.]**

**Wow...that's a lot of dirty words...I'm blushing right now...**

**One last bit of news! I'm on Twitter now! Yes, I joined the craze...*hangs head* I'll be using it for fanfic things mostly, and will update with my progress on chapters, and even post a teaser every now and then. So if you have twitter, you can follow me if you'd like updates on my stories! **

**http : // twitter . com / scribeninja**

**Just remove the spaces :)**

**As always, thank you so much for reading and letting me know what you think! I love you all! *hugs***


	25. Jobs, Piggyback Rides and Massages

**Oh my gosh, you guys. I am so, so, so freaking sorry this update took so long. I have legitimate reasons! **

**I wrote and submitted my contest entry. It took me a while, but it's done :) I'm going to turn it into a mini-story when the contest is over so I can expand on it and tell the full story. If you haven't read it, please do! http://www . fanfiction . net/s/5429901/1/Graveyard_of_Good_Intentions**

**And please check out the other contest entries here, and participate! : http://www . fanfiction . net/~EricandhisGreatPumpkin**

**After my entry was done, I worked on my other story, What Dreams May Come, because it had been waiting longer for an update. And then I was finally able to work on this chapter. About midway through, I had to stop and develop the story arc that's coming before I could continue. After that, I was finally able to finish this bitch. I hope I made it up to you in lemony goodness, and extra-longness :)**

**I want to thank Sunkisz, Kyss, DeeMM and FDM for helping me work through my plotting. I'm sure there's even more ironing out to do ;) Ya'll are the best, and I wouldn't trade you for anything. **

**Okay. Enough of my lame excuses, on with the chapter...**

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Chapter 25

When I woke up the next morning, I knew that I would definitely be asking Eric to speak Swedish for me more often. I had never been so turned on before in my life. I also knew that I had a sudden desire to learn Swedish. It was killing me not knowing what he had said to me. The emotion behind his eyes at times… it was almost like he was laying his heart open for me.

The person in question was still sleeping next to me, and he was slightly snoring. I smiled down at him, and then carefully got out of bed to get ready for work. I grabbed my uniform and headed for the bathroom.

I worked at Louisiana Kitchen, a restaurant with a bar. We usually got elderly people in the morning and at lunch, but since it was the only place around that served good food for a great price, and also had a bar, it tended to get a lot of drunks at night. The owners were really nice, and their son Sam managed the place. He was someone I would consider a friend. He was always nice, and fair to all the employees. Sam mostly worked the day shift, but he would be pulling a double with me today so I could get the hang of the night shift. I was originally only supposed to work the night shift, but one of the day girls called in, so I offered to pull a double as long as I didn't end up doing it all the time.

I quickly took a hot shower, and tried not to think about inviting Eric in with me. I'd never get to work that way. After I was squeaky clean, I got out and put on my uniform. It consisted of a white t-shirt with Louisiana Kitchen embroidered over the left breast, and a pair of dark-wash jeans with a black belt. It was pretty casual, and I liked that. We were allowed to wear Capri pants in the warmer months, but no shorts. We'd always get a girl thinking she could wear extremely short shorts, and that would either turn away the older customers, or start a bar fight.

After I got dressed I dried my hair before pulling it up into a ponytail, and then put on some makeup. I didn't really care for makeup, and all I usually put on my face was some SPF moisturizer, and a bit of eyeliner, but it was a fact in waitressing that you got bigger tips at night if you wore makeup. I quickly put the light makeup on, then brushed my teeth, and went back to my bedroom.

Eric was lying on his stomach with his arm stretched out over my side of the bed. The blanket was only half-covering his gorgeous butt, and I resisted the urge to go pinch it. Instead, I crawled into the bed, picked up his outstretched arm, and lay down before putting it back down across my waist. As I scooted closer to him his body adjusted so that he ended up lying on his side facing me. Almost as if he could sense me, his grip tightened around me, but his eyes didn't open, and he continued to snore. I took the moment to really look at him. He looked so beautiful and peaceful when he slept, and for probably the millionth time, I regretted our brief breakup, and my stupidity that had caused it.

I didn't like to dwell on it for long though, so I pushed those thoughts out of my head, and scooted closer to him. I still had a half hour before I had to leave, and I wanted to spend it right where I was, flush against Eric's naked body. After a short while, I began to feel Eric "wake up" before he actually woke up. I couldn't contain my giggles, and my movement against him wasn't helping his situation. Suddenly he groaned, and pulled me to him even more.

With a look at his face, I saw that he was still sleeping so as gently as I could, I pushed him until he was on his back. I glanced at the clock, and saw that I still had plenty of time for what I wanted to do. He deserved a reward for indulging me the night before. My hands ran down his toned torso, and his body shivered under my touch. The feeling it gave me was powerful, and I felt the beginnings of a hot fantasy take shape. Focusing on the task at hand, I brought my hands even lower, and firmly grasped his length.

"Sookie," he groaned out in his sleep, which made me tingle in my girly regions. I began to stroke him, running my thumb across the underside of his tip before plunging downward again. I could see him begin to stir, so I quickly took him into my mouth and began to suck. He stopped making any noises for a couple of seconds, and I assumed he was finally awake. I knew I had assumed right when he let out a loud groan, and tangled his fingers in my hair. I would have to fix that later.

"Fuck, Sookie," he moaned.

I moaned around his length, and he bucked his hips. I knew what he wanted, and I wanted to give it to him. I put both hands on his hips to hold him still, and then I relaxed my throat and took him all the way into my mouth, and down my throat. I moaned again, and instantly felt his hot release.

"Oh God, Sookie. Fuck, Sookie," he yelled as he came. I slowly released him from my mouth, and as soon as I sat up, Eric was on me, kissing me like I was the best thing he'd seen all his life. I managed to pull away quickly, and jumped off the bed giggling.

"I have to leave in a few minutes, and I need to fix my hair and makeup before that, so no attacking me, okay?"

"You can't just wake me up like that and not expect me to reciprocate."

_I love this man._

"I know, but I couldn't resist, and you can just make it up to me later," I said, and turned to go to the bathroom again to fix the damage. Eric followed me, and jumped into the shower. I redid my hair, and touched up my makeup. "Eric, I'm leaving now, okay?" I said.

He poked his head out of the shower, and I went over to kiss him. "Mind if I come by for breakfast?" He asked.

I was surprised that he wanted to, but pleased that I'd get to see him again so soon. I nodded. "That's fine. I'll look forward to it."

"I'll see you in a bit then," he said. I left the bathroom, and before I was out the door, I heard him call out, "I love you!" I had a smile on my face the whole way to work.

**EPOV**

Sookie was without a doubt, the most perfect woman in the world. I never expected to be woken up like I had, but I could definitely be woken up like that anytime she felt the need to. I had every intention of returning the favor, vigorously… but she was already dressed for work, and had to leave. I found that I didn't want her to go, and while I was showering, decided to see if she would be okay with me having breakfast at the restaurant.

When I finished showering, I threw on my clothes from the night before, and headed over to my apartment to get some clean clothes. It was completely quiet in the apartment, and nothing seemed to be out of place, so I had hope that Tray and Amelia kept the christening to his bedroom.

I quickly went to my bedroom and peeled off my dirty clothes. I threw on a pair of worn jeans, the kind that only look and feel the way they do because they've been worn so much, and a thin, black long-sleeved sweater. Yes, I still wore sweaters in the summer. They tended to be thinner though, and if it gets too hot, I've been known to wear a tee shirt.

When I was dressed, I used the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. Then I grabbed my wallet, and walked to the restaurant. Louisiana Kitchen was a nice place. I'd only been in once, when Sookie needed to run in to get her paycheck, so I only got to see just inside the door. This time I went in and asked the first waitress I saw where Sookie's section was. She pointed in a general direction, and I headed that way. There was only one booth open, and I slid right in, and looked around while I waited. Her section was packed with elderly people, and they all looked happy and comfortable. I glanced around at the other sections and noticed that this one had the most people.

When Sookie came out, I realized why. She came out with a tray of food for one of her tables, and her warm smile never left her face. She laughed, and talked to her customers and some of them even showed her pictures of grandchildren, all of whom she knew by name. I even heard her ask one of the couples about their health, and she seemed really concerned and caring, and even suggested something healthier off the menu because the man's cholesterol had gone up.

Basically, I fell more in love with her as I watched her. I was completely zoned out as I observed her, and I'm sure I had a huge grin on my face. Then she spotted me, and her whole face lit up as she came over to my table.

I stood up and gave her a hug, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't completely appropriate, but she hugged me back.

"Now, you know not all my customers get hugs like that. You should feel lucky," she teased as I sat back down.

"Damn straight," said a voice from the booth behind me. I turned to the side, and saw a small, thin man sitting there with a tiny woman, who was grinning at him and holding his hand.

"Oh, Ernie, hush and eat your waffles," Sookie giggled.

"Now, Miss Sookie, you don't just give hugs to anyone," the old man continued, "Who is this lucky bastard?"

The woman didn't even blink at his cussing. "Yes, Sookie. Introduce us," she said.

"Oh, alright. Ernie, Millie, this is my boyfriend Eric. Eric this is Ernie and Millie," Sookie said.

I slid out of the booth, and went over to shake both of their hands. "It's nice to meet you both," I said.

"He's quite the looker, dear," Millie said, and I saw a blush creep into Sookie's cheeks.

"Does he treat you right, Miss Sookie?" Ernie asked, as he looked me up and down.

"Yes, he's a great man, Ernie. You won't need to fight him anytime soon," she said to Ernie, and then turned to me. "Ernie's a bit protective of me," she whispered.

"I ain't deaf," Ernie said, causing Sookie to giggle again. "You just take good care of our Sookie, or I'll knock you in the shin with my cane, and don't you go thinking I won't."

I wanted to laugh, but I held it in. "I assure you that you have nothing to worry about, sir."

After our little exchange, Ernie and Millie went back to their breakfast, and I sat back down. Sookie asked me what I would like, and I realized that I hadn't even picked up the menu. She went to get me some water, and take care of a few other tables while I looked it over.

I ordered some pancakes and bacon, and was content to watch Sookie as she worked. About ten minutes later, Ernie and Millie got up to leave, and while Ernie took a trip to the bathroom, Millie came up to me.

"Hello, Millie. Are you leaving?" I asked.

"Yes, I just wanted to say goodbye while Ernie was off doing his business. I also wanted to tell you that I can see that you love our Sookie, and that she loves you back. That's the same way Ernie looked at me when we were your age. He still does. You two will be together for a long, long time, young man." She leaned in real close, and then said, "Don't fuck it up." My jaw dropped at her language, but she just winked, and walked away.

Sookie came up a few seconds later with my food. "What was that about?" She asked as she set my plate down.

"Oh just a friendly warning, that's all," I said. "I didn't realize elderly people cursed that much."

She laughed. "Oh yes, lots of them have dirty mouths. Now what kind of warning were you talking about?"

"They're just protective of you, that's all," I said, and then looked at the food she had placed in front of me. "Wow, this looks great."

"The cook, Lafayette, is excellent. You'll love it, I promise. Do you need anything else?" She asked, fulfilling her duties as my waitress.

"No, I'm good," I said, smiling.

"Okay, I'll be back in a little bit," she said, and then went to take care of her other tables again.

The food was excellent, and after the morning I'd already had, I wolfed everything down quickly. When Sookie came back over, I asked for the check, and when it came to the tip, I didn't know what to do. She would probably be ticked if I gave her too much, but tipping a percent seemed too formal. I ended up paying the bill, and left a ten under my plate. I figured I'd tell her that it was the only other bill I had later.

"So when are you coming back by," She asked before I left.

"What time does your shift end?"

"Eleven, but you could come by a bit early if you want."

"Okay, I'll be here around ten-thirty. You don't have to do doubles again do you? You're going to be exhausted tonight."

"I shouldn't have to do this again. I'll probably want to go home and crash tonight though."

"Oh no, I owe you for this morning."

She grinned, "Yes, but if I'm too tired to enjoy it…"

"Oh, you'll enjoy what I'm planning," I said.

"I look forward to it, then," she said.

I gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and then left. I went to the gym for a couple of hours, had a thorough workout, and then I went back to my place. Neither Tray nor Amelia were there. I took the time to start working on my writing. One of my professors suggested I write original material over the summer to develop my skills.

So I pulled out my laptop, and wrote for a while. I didn't get a whole lot out, so I gave up early, not wanting to frustrate myself. I realized that I still had a few hours before I got to go walk Sookie home. I was bored. I really had nothing to do. Nothing I wanted to do, at least. When school was still going I had that, and then Sookie and I spent all of our free time together, but now I had way more free time than she did.

My stomach growled, so I went to the kitchen for some food, only to discover that I was out of almost everything.

"What the…?" I said aloud.

Oh. Tray. I forgot I had invited the human garbage disposal to live with me. Hell, grocery shopping would give me something to do. I headed to the market around the corner to get some food, and when I got there a sign caught my eye. There was a public library across the street with a 'help wanted' sign in the window. Maybe that was just what I needed. A nice job in a quiet library.

I skipped the grocery store, and went to the library instead. It wasn't the biggest library I'd even seen, and was just slightly smaller than the one at the college. There was a middle-aged woman sitting behind the desk, and when she saw me she seemed to do a double take, and then stood up.

She was pretty, with light brown hair that came to her shoulders, and brown eyes. She looked like she took care of herself, but from one glance to her chest I knew there was no way those were real. I shook my head internally. I just didn't understand why women would do things like that.

"Hello, my name is Eric Northman. I'm a college student here. I saw your sign that you needed help, and wanted to inquire about the job," I said. She extended her hand to shake mine.

"Hi, Eric. I'm Selah, the librarian here. The job would just be checking books out, sorting the returned ones, labeling new ones… little things like that. May I ask what your major is? You seem like an athlete."

"Oh no, I don't really play sports. I'm an English lit major," I explained.

"Well then, you're perfect for the job! When can you start?" She asked, smiling brightly.

"You're giving me the job? Just like that?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Why not? You're more than qualified, and I've had that sign up for almost a month without anyone asking about the job, so I'm a little desperate."

"Okay. I can start tomorrow. What would the hours be?"

"I could use you from ten to five, but you may get to leave earlier than that depending on how much work there is to be done. It will probably only be about five days a week, and I'm assuming that you only want the job during the summer?"

"Yeah, I stay pretty busy during the school year, but the hours work perfectly for me."

"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow. Would you mind coming in a bit early so we can get some paperwork done?"

"Sure, no problem," I said, and then shook her hand again, thanked her, and left.

I went on over to the grocery store feeling quite happy. I didn't think it would be that easy to get the job, and I couldn't wait to tell Sookie about it. I would have something to do while she was at work, and we'd still be able to spend time together. It was perfect.

I bought what I could carry, and took it back to the apartment. I had a feeling that having Tray live with me would mean that I would need to have a car just to get the groceries back from the store.

Tray was in the apartment when I got back, playing video games. His extensive collection of games was spread out on the coffee table.

"Hey, man," he said as I walked in, and then glanced up at me, noticing the bags I was carrying. "Oh awesome, I saw we were running low on food. Let me help you with that."

"Thanks, Tray," I said while handing him some of the bags. We carried them to the kitchen, and began putting the groceries away. "So, I think we need to lay some ground rules," I began.

"Yeah, I figured this conversation was coming," he said with a laugh. "So, what? I need to not be a slob?"

"I only request that you recycle, the bins are self-explanatory, please keep your dirty clothes in a basket, and only put towels in the bathroom; when you eat, please rinse your dishes, and put them in the dishwasher, and when it's full, we can run it."

"Is that all?"

"We also need to come up with an arrangement regarding Sookie and Amelia. For one, I would appreciate it if you and Amelia kept your sexual relations to your bedroom or the shower."

"That's fine," Tray laughed. "What about you and Sookie?"

"We'll do the same, but we also need to decide how sleeping arrangements will go."

"Um… How about I sleep in my room, and you sleep in yours."

"Jackass. You know what I mean. When you want some alone time with Amelia, I can go stay with Sookie, and vice versa. We'll have to discuss this with them of course, but does that sound agreeable to you?"

"Yeah, that's fine. What about the grocery shopping though, because you bought a lot of healthy shit, and I think I might starve."

I laughed, and then told him what I was thinking in regards to that, and we decided to go grocery shopping once every two weeks together. I asked him for the apartment that night, because of what I was planning for Sookie, and he told me that it was fine. Things like that wouldn't happen all the time, but I did need to be alone with her tonight.

Tray and I played video games for a couple of hours, and when I headed out to get Sookie, he walked with me to Sookie and Amelia's apartment building, where he decided to warn me.

"Just remember that Sookie can handle herself with those guys. I remember the first time I went to pick up Amelia from the night shift. It's a little tough to swallow, so take a deep breath and keep your head on straight, alright."

"How bad is it?"

"Nothing you can't handle. Some of the guys can get handsy, but keep your own hands in your pockets, because if you decide to step up and defend her, she could get fired. I saw that happen once."

"Jesus. She was in there with a bunch of nice elderly people this morning. Does it turn into a strip joint at night, and no one told me?"

"No, nothing like that," he laughed. "And it's not like that all the time, usually weekends are the worst. It actually shouldn't be bad tonight at all. They'll probably only have a few customers left."

Tray's words kept rolling around in my head on the walk to the restaurant. I didn't know what he was worried about, because I wasn't a violent person. I'd never been in a fight in my life, and I couldn't imagine what I would see that would make me want to hit anyone. And then I saw just that. When I walked into the restaurant, I went straight to Sookie's section, and there were a couple tables of drunken guys still there. Sookie was standing at one of the tables, trying to tell the guys that it was time to leave, that they hadn't ordered anything for a half hour, and needed to take the party somewhere else. I could see how frustrated she was, because they weren't listening to her, and many were looking at her suggestively. My blood was getting hot.

Sookie turned and began to holler for someone, and one of the guys took the opportunity to stand and wrap his arms around her from behind, copping a feel in the process. My blood was boiling. Before I could walk over there and rip the guy's head off, Sookie elbowed him in the ribs, and punched him in the nose. A man came running out of the back, and kicked the drunk guys out. They left without protest, thankfully taking the route that didn't bring them past me, or I might have done something to the asshole that touched Sookie.

"Are you alright?" The man asked Sookie, and put his hand on her shoulder. For some reason the sight pissed me off, even though I didn't think he was coming onto her.

Sookie made an erase motion with her hand, and said, "I'm fine. I just want to forget about it."

I walked towards them, and as I got close, the man turned towards me and said, "Hey, I'm sorry, but we're about to close up."

"Sam, it's okay," Sookie said as she stepped towards me and wrapped her arms around me for a quick hug. In the two seconds that my arms were around her, I could feel her relax, and that made me smile. She had missed me.

"Sam, this is Eric, my boyfriend. Eric, this is my boss Sam," Sookie said, as Sam and I shook hands.

"Eric, nice to meet you," Sam said with a genuine smile. "Sookie's told me a lot about you, and that you'll be coming in to take her home like Tray does for Amelia."

I was surprised that Sookie told her boss I would be doing that. "That's okay, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. All I ask is that you don't come in too early, and you let us handle the drunks. As you can see, Sookie can take care of herself, and I've always got a few guys working that can take care of any bigger problems if need be."

"No problem," I said.

Sam excused himself, and went in the back. Sookie immediately wrapped her arms around me again, and I felt her take a deep breath.

"I missed you today," she said.

"I missed you too," I replied, and kissed her temple.

She abruptly pulled away, and led me by the hand to a booth in the corner. "I still have some side work to finish up, and then I'll be ready to go. You can wait here. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes."

"Alright," I said as I slid into the booth. Sookie left me and began finishing up her work, wiping tables, refilling things, sweeping. There were a couple of other waitresses doing the same thing, and they kept glancing over at me, making me feel quite uncomfortable.

It only took Sookie about fifteen minutes to complete her work, even though I kept offering to help her. She came over to the booth, and gave me one lingering kiss before pulling me out of it, and leading me to the door.

"How was your day?" I asked when we were outside.

"Exhausting. The night girls are all so catty, and those guys just wouldn't quit with the suggestive comments. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that I'd get to see you soon."

I smiled, and put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her close to me.

"What about you?" She asked.

"I got a job today," I said.

"Really?! Where?" She asked excitedly.

"The public library across from the grocery store. I saw a help wanted sign when I went to get some groceries today, and inquired about the job. The librarian hired me on the spot."

"Wow, that's some good luck. The library is perfect for you. What are the hours like?"

I filled her in on the particulars, and was pleased that she was so happy for me, because I wasn't sure what her reaction was going to be.

"So would you mind staying with me tonight?" I asked. "Tray said he'd stay with Amelia so we could have the place to ourselves."

"I don't know, Eric. I really just want to shower and go to bed."

"Please? I have something planned."

She looked up at me, and I tried to give her a pleading look. It must have worked, because she sighed and nodded.

"Fine, but really, I don't think I'm up for anything strenuous tonight."

"Thank you. I promise that it will be a night of relaxing," I said, and then got an idea. "In fact, why don't we start now?"

I stopped walking, and Sookie gave me a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"You're tired, and your feet are probably killing you, so I'm going to carry you the rest of the way."

She laughed. "Come on, Eric. It's only three more blocks, I can walk."

"Nope, from here on out, you are going to relax, so hop on," I said. I stood in front of her, and bent my knees a bit.

She laughed. "A piggy-back ride? Are you serious? I'm not doing that."

I stood up and looked at her. "How long has it been since you've had a good piggy-back ride? You were probably a little girl. Come on, it'll be fun," I urged, and got into position again.

I heard her sigh, and then felt her arms wrap around my neck. Her body pressed close to mine, and then she jumped up and hitched her legs around my waist. I gripped them under her thighs, and stood up. Sookie squealed and giggled when I did.

"What?" I laughed.

"I'm so high up!"

I chuckled, and began walking. "See, I told you it would be fun."

"Yes, you were right," she said in my ear, and giggled some more. "If I wasn't so tired, this could actually be an advantageous position, that is, if I wasn't so afraid that you'll drop me."

"I won't drop you, feel free to do what you please," I teased.

"Hmm… I think I'll just enjoy the ride, thanks."

"Minx."

She giggled, and held onto my neck a little tighter. Then her head rested on my shoulder, and she took a deep breath.

"Don't you dare fall asleep on me, we're almost there," I said, bouncing her a little.

"Eric, I was comfortable," she complained.

"You'll get comfortable again soon," I promised.

A couple minutes later, I dropped Sookie off at her apartment building so she could run in and get a change of clothes. While she did that, I went on to my apartment to start setting things up. I got out all the candles I could find, and set them up in the bathroom and bedroom, and then I filled the tub while I lit the ones in the bathroom. Just as I was lighting the last one, I heard Sookie come in.

"Where are you?" She called out.

"In the bathroom, come on in," I hollered back.

She gasped when she walked in and saw the space illuminated by candlelight.

"I drew you a bubble bath," I said.

She walked over to me, and pulled my head down for a kiss. When she released me she said, "Eric, this is perfect," and then began stripping her clothes off. When she was naked, she began undressing me.

"No, this is about you Sookie, I thought I'd just sit in here with you," I said.

"I want you to get in with me," she protested. "It'll be better that way."

I stripped quickly, and quickly got into the tub. What can I say? It doesn't take much to convince me. Sookie got in after me, and sat with her back to my chest, then let out a deep sigh.

"This is a perfect way to end the day," she said.

"Who said this is the last of it?" I asked.

"You mean you have more planned?"

"Just a bit, yes."

"There's no getting out of it?"

"Nope, so stop thinking, and relax. You've had a long day," I said as I began to rub her shoulders.

She let out a deep moan, and I'm not going to lie, I was definitely pressing into her back after that.

"Oh, that feels so good," she moaned. "You have to stop though."

"Why?" I asked, not stopping at all.

"Because I can feel how happy it's making you right now, and I don't have the energy to take care of it."

I chuckled, and continued to rub her shoulders. "Don't worry about that, I'll be fine. Stop thinking."

She did as I asked, and let me rub her shoulders, and wash her body and her hair. After she was thoroughly clean, we sat and soaked for almost a good hour, but the water began to turn cold, so we got out, and dried each other off.

I blew out all the candles, and led Sookie to the bedroom, where I began lighting more candles.

"Lie down on the bed, on your stomach," I told her softly as I continued to light candles. She didn't question my request, and did exactly that. After I lit the last candle, I grabbed the bottle of lotion that Sookie kept in my room, and brought it over to the bed. I climbed up on the bed, kneeled next to her, and squirted some lotion into my hands. It had a light coconut smell to it that I enjoyed. I rubbed my hands together to warm the lotion, and began to massage her shoulders, loving the way her skin glowed in the candlelight.

"Mmm, that feels so nice," she said, and as I worked the muscles in her back, I felt her relax more and more until eventually, there was no more tension there. I continued to work my hands lower, and lower, and I smirked when she let out a guttural moan as I massaged her beautiful ass.

I spent more time there than I should have, and then moved down to her legs. When I got to her feet, I asked her to turn over. She did so instantly, and I sat at the end of the bed to massage her feet. I took my time with each one, taking much pleasure in the moans that kept coming from her.

When I felt that she was completely relaxed, I climbed up the bed and hovered above her. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and smiled. I could see in her eyes how good she felt, and I wanted to make her feel even better. I kissed her slowly, and when she began to deepen it I knew she would allow me to do what I wanted, so I pulled away, and whispered in her ear, "Let me take care of you."

She nodded her consent, and I began trailing kisses down her body slowly, keeping my languid pace from the massage. By the time I reached her center, she was panting and moaning my name quietly. I smiled to myself, and then took a long slow lick up her glistening folds. She gasped, and her hands immediately went to my hair, pressing me against her. I worked her with my tongue, softly at first, and when she began to moan louder, I used my fingers. I slid two inside her, and began to suck lightly on her hardened clit.

"Please, Eric. So good. Please," she chanted softly. She was very close, so I curled my fingers at just the right spot, but instead of letting go, she grabbed my head in her hands, and pulled me up to her mouth.

"I need you now," she whimpered.

"Sookie, you're too tired for that, and this isn't about me," I tried to reason. I was more than willing to have sex with her, but I also knew she was tired, and I would have been fine if we didn't.

"Eric, I love you, and I really appreciate what you're saying, but right now what I need is to feel you inside of me. So please, fuck me," she panted.

She didn't have to tell me twice. I kissed her hard, and then lay down on my side beside her. She knew what I was doing, and rolled on her side facing away from me. I positioned myself on the bed, lifted her leg, and then slowly entered her. Once I was sheathed, I lowered her leg, and began rocking my hips, thrusting as deep as the position allowed. She flexed her muscles around me, and my god did it feel amazing.

Soon we were both moaning and panting, and then Sookie took her upper leg, and put it over mine, causing me to slide in deeper. I groaned as her heat surrounded me, and began to thrust faster.

"So close," she moaned.

I groaned, because I was too, and began angling for her g-spot as my hand went to her clit, and began rubbing tight circles over it.

"Come with me," I whispered in her ear.

Her reaction was instant, and I immediately felt her walls tighten around me as she came. She cried out my name with her release, and with a few more thrusts, I came hard. My hand gripped her hip tightly and pulled her onto me as far as she could go as I spilled into her.

We lay there panting for a few minutes, aftershocks still rippling through our bodies, until I finally pulled out of her, and covered us with the blanket. She turned to face me, and kissed me gently before snuggling into my embrace. After a few minutes her breathing evened out, so I carefully got out of bed to blow out the candles and check the locks, and then just as carefully got back in, and pulled her into my arms once more.

"I love you," Sookie whispered quietly, and I wasn't sure if she said it in her sleep or not, but I whispered back anyway.

"I love you too."

* * *

**Dawww... aren't they cute?**

**Okay, here's the thing. It may take me a bit to update again. *ducks* I know, and I'm sorry. I have a busy week ahead of me. My sister's wedding rehearsal dinner is this Friday, the wedding is this Saturday, and my family has insanely decided to move us from our current house to the new one on Sunday. I still have to find a new job, so I'm going to be putting some effort into that. I do have the day off tomorrow, and if I don't procrastinate too much, I might get started on the next chapter of WDMC. **

**Please be patient with me, ladies(possible gentlemen?). I swear to you I'm not giving up on my stories. I've just got a lot of real life crap going on right now. **

**I want to thank every single one of you that reads this story. I love getting those alerts in my inbox when someone adds my stories or myself to their alerts or favorites. Please, don't be too shy to review though. I'd love to hear what you think :) **


	26. Love Notes, Fruit, and Quinn

**Hello again! I'm sorry I've been such a sucky updater lately. I swear I'm writing, really I am. I currently have 4 Word Doc's open, all different stories, all partially written. *facepalm* I do have the next chapter of Studybuddies almost done. WDMC has been started, but I only have about 4 pages of that done. I've started writing the first chapter of my Halloween fic expansion, and I'm really excited about it. I'm also about to start writing an angst story on the side. I may not start posting that until I have a few chapters done so I know I can pull it off. Ya'll know how I am about angst. I'm looking at it as a writing exercise for me. I'm not exactly great at writing angsty emotion, and I would like to get better. **

**I've been pretty horrid about replying to reviews lately too, but I'm hoping to correct this. I've just been so freaking busy that when I'm at the computer, I can't force myself to do anything I should. Everyone please know that I love and deeply appreciate every single review I get. They are why I continue to post this horrible drivel! :)**

**Anyway, no lemons in this one *ducks* But there will be lemons in the next one. Juicy ones at that. ;) **

**Huge thanks and nerdvirgin hugs to Sunkisz for being my pinch-hitter beta on this. My regular goddess FDM is extremely busy right now, and Sun stepped up and edited for me even though her computer was being a d-bag. If ya'll aren't reading Sun's stuff, go check it out now. She's got some kickass stories. **

* * *

Chapter 26

I must have been really tired, because when I woke the next day, Eric was already gone. I had a deep feeling of sadness when I saw that he wasn't next to me. He'd never not been next to me the morning after a night with him. I sat up and noticed a piece of paper on his pillow. I picked it up and found that it was a note to me.

_Sookie,_

_I'm sorry that you're waking up without me, and I would love nothing more than to be there with you right now, but unfortunately I had to go to work. You were sleeping so peacefully, and I didn't want to wake you. I may have snuck a brief kiss when I woke, but I can't really be blamed for that. You've spoiled me, and I can't start my day properly without a kiss from your soft lips. Shit, that's cheesy. I cut you up some fruit for breakfast, and it's in the fridge. The coffee pot is all ready to go, so just hit start. I know you like your coffee in the mornings. _

_I'm not entirely sure when I get off work, but I will be there to pick you up tonight. I love you, and I already miss you. Is that cheesy too? If it is, I don't care. I actually have an ache in my chest from the thought of leaving you here. I can't wait to see you. I love you. _

_Eric_

I never thought I'd be one to get all swoony at a simple note, but I did. He was just so thoughtful and considerate, and he even admitted he was being cheesy. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I got up and headed for the shower.

Showering without Eric always sucked, so I got through it as quickly as I could. I went ahead and dressed in my uniform, and headed to the kitchen for some coffee and fruit. Eric had arranged a bunch of my favorite fruits on a plate and put it in the fridge for me, and I ate all of it.

After I ate, and had drank at least half the pot of coffee, I gathered my things and headed back to my apartment. Amelia and Tray were there, passed out on the couch. They had a blanket covering them and I didn't want to be there when one of them woke up and it fell off, so I quickly went to my room. I picked up a bit and put a load of laundry in the washer, and then I was at a loss. All I wanted was to spend time with Eric. I decided to stop by the library and see him on my way to work. I knew it wasn't exactly wise to go in on his first day, but it was a library, so I didn't think it would matter a whole lot.

I took my time walking to the library to kill some time, because I didn't want to be early for work. When I finally got there, I found myself feeling quite happy that I was about to see Eric. He wasn't hard to spot. Eric was standing behind the counter, checking out books, and the first thing I noticed was that he was wearing his glasses. He didn't wear them that often anymore, and every time he did, it reminded me of how he was when we first met. The fact that he was wearing them, and in a library… well, lets just say that I had a few rather naughty scenarios running through my head. After I got over my initial happiness, I noticed an older woman standing behind him. She was probably in her 40's, and looked like she took care of herself, but there was no way her boobs were real. She was also staring at Eric's ass like it was water in the desert. From the look on her face, I knew just what was going through her head. She was having sex with Eric in her head. Immediately I felt territorial. I wasn't worried about it, or jealous for that matter. I had already gotten over that hurdle, and I knew Eric wouldn't cheat on me. I trusted him completely. The way she looked at him bothered me, but I was sure that this must have been the way those guys were looking at me the night before. Eric was rather hot, and I realized I should be happy that other people noticed as well. I was the only one lucky enough to benefit from it, so other girls were the ones that should be jealous.

I took a deep breath, and just as I let it out Eric spotted me.

"Sookie! What are you doing here?" he asked as he came over to me, and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be here, but I wanted to see you before work," I said.

"Eric is this one of your friends from school?" The older woman said.

Eric released me, and turned to the woman. "Selah, this is my girlfriend Sookie. Sookie, this is my boss Selah."

If Selah was upset that I was Eric's girlfriend, she hid it well. I shook her extended hand and said, "It's so nice to meet you. I know I shouldn't be here while he's working, and it won't happen again, but I pass by here on my way to work and I wanted to say hello real quick."

"Oh nonsense. You can stop in anytime. As long as Eric gets his work done, I don't have a problem with people stopping by to see him."

Well, that was nice of her… too nice considering the way she was staring at his ass just minutes ago. Was she trying to convince me that I had nothing to worry about from her? It didn't really matter what her intentions were. I knew Eric wasn't going to do anything, so I just nodded politely and thanked her. She walked back to the desk, and I noticed her watching us as we talked. I had a feeling that my initial reaction to her was correct.

"Would you mind if I ate at the restaurant for supper tonight? Is that allowed?" Eric asked.

I giggled, "Of course it's allowed. You could have a later dinner and just stay until I'm done if you want."

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you around eight then," he said with a bright smile.

"Eight? Eric, you'll sit there for two hours waiting on me."

"I don't mind," he said, and somehow I believed him.

"Well, bring Tray with you then. Amelia and I are both working tonight, so at least you'll have someone to talk to that way."

"Okay, I will."

"Alright. I'll see you later," I said, and stretched up to give him a peck him on the lips. Then I remembered everything from that morning. "Oh! I also wanted to thank you for the fruit, the coffee, and the note. You are cheesy as all get out, but I love it."

He grinned at me, and gave me another hug. I took that opportunity to whisper in his ear.

"I also really love that you're wearing your glasses again. Especially in the library. We may have to christen that big bookshelf in your apartment soon." His grip on me tightened, and he cleared his throat.

"Is that a promise?" he asked.

"Yes, it is. I better get going. I'll see you later," I said as I reluctantly pulled away from him. He smiled mischievously at me, and watched me walk out the doors. I had a grin on my face the whole way to the restaurant. That grin stayed there as I walked through the doors, clocked in, put on my apron, and then it promptly died when I saw John Quinn in a manager's shirt. I spotted Sam heading into the kitchen, so I quickly followed and cornered him.

"What is John Quinn doing here in a manager's shirt? The man's an idiot!"

"He's also your new boss, so keep that to yourself," Sam said, and pulled me back into the prep area.

"How is he my new boss?" I asked.

"His mom bought the place. She just came into some major money and wanted to own something. She's keeping on all the current staff because we know how to run things, and her only stipulation was that her son be given a manager's position. He is an idiot, and I'll end up doing twice the work while he walks around feeling entitled. All he's done today is eat and walk around hitting on all the waitresses. He's even getting paid more than me."

"Oh, Sam," I said, and hugged him. He was too good-hearted for his own good. "Why don't you quit? You don't deserve this."

"I couldn't leave ya'll here to deal with him," he said, but I noticed that his gaze flickered off behind me. I turned my head to see what he was looking at, and smiled. It was Missie Summers, one of the other waitresses. She was one of the sweetest girls you'd ever meet, and she lit up a room with her smile. Sam had been head over heels for her for over a year, but he was too chicken-shit to do anything about it. I knew for a fact that Missie was sweet on him too, because she was always talking about him, and her eyes always seemed to follow him longingly when he was in a room.

I smacked Sam on the shoulder to bring him back to the present. "Would you just ask her out already?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, putting his serious face on.

"Oh come on! You like her, so ask her out. She told me she likes scary movies, so take her to one."

"I think you have some work to do," he mumbled, and walked around me. I shook my head, and went out to start working.

I managed to avoid Quinn for about an hour, but when he spotted me he let it be known.

"Sookie Stackhouse?!" he bellowed while I was taking a table's order. I apologized to them, finished up with their order, and tried to figure out a way to get to the kitchen without talking to him. There wasn't any way out of it though, so I walked towards him.

"Hello Quinn," I said.

"How have you been? I haven't seen you in a while. I've missed you," he said in what I think he intended to be a seductive voice. I couldn't believe it. I'd never called him back after I discovered his little "too early" problem, and he was acting like we'd had an intimate relationship, and had nothing to be embarrassed about.

"I've been fine, and if you don't mind I have work to do," I said, waving the ticket in front of me.

"Oh, of course. We'll have to catch up soon," he said as I walked around him and into the kitchen.

Amelia had just gotten to work, and she was in the kitchen when I walked in. She immediately pulled me into the cooler with her.

"Is that…"

"Yes."

"Did he just…"

"Yes."

"What the…"

"I know."

"How?"

"His mom bought the place, and he's only here to put in his time for a legal paycheck. He hasn't done anything but hit on all the waitresses."

"Should we warn the waitresses about his… condition?" she asked, trying to stifle a giggle.

"It's not funny, Amelia. And if you want to warn them, by all means, warn them, but I'm keeping my mouth shut. We better get out there before he discovers us in here and tries to have a three-second threesome with us."

We both got back to work, and time would not fly by. Quinn kept slowing things down. He would drop things so the waitresses would bend over to pick them up, and I was surprised at how many of them seemed to know exactly what he was doing, yet still went with it. Amelia ignored him, and I tried too, but every time I walked past him he tried to ask me on a date. Missie seemed to be the only other waitress with a problem with him, and every time Quinn was around her, I saw Sam keeping an eye on them. The boy really needed to grow a pair and ask her out.

Finally, right at eight, Eric and Tray came in. They had to sit in Amelia's section, so I didn't get to go say hello right away. We were too busy for me to get a chance. I noticed Quinn go over to talk to some guys sitting in a booth behind Eric and Tray's, and I hoped he wouldn't talk to them. About an hour later, I finally had the chance to go say hello to Eric.

"Hey, busy night?" he asked as I grabbed a couple bites of his burger.

"Yes. We're never this busy during the day," I said, and took a drink from his water. I hadn't even realized I'd done it until after the fact, but I noticed that it didn't seem to faze him, and I loved him more for it. I glanced around, and saw that one of my tables needed re-fills.

"Oops, gotta get back to work. Thank you for the food," I said, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

I didn't have another chance to stop until we were almost done, and just as I was heading over there, Quinn stopped me.

"Hey, Sookie, could you help me real quick?" he asked.

I just wanted to get out of there, so I asked him what he needed.

"The computer is acting funny, and I need to clock out."

I followed him over to the computer, and showed him how to fix the issue. I was surprised that there had been a legitimate problem. I wasn't surprised that he came onto me… again. He tried to get me to go to a movie with him.

"Listen, I think you're a really nice guy, but I've got a boyfriend, and I'm really, really happy with him."

"Well, why didn't you say that to begin with?"

My jaw almost dropped. I hadn't expected that.

"Sookie, I don't want to screw up your relationship. I'm not into that kind of drama. Really, I was just hoping for a casual, sexual sort of thing anyway, but if you're taken then I'll go after one of the other waitresses."

Now that was the Quinn I knew, and before I could stop him, he was wrapping his arms around me and saying, "Truce hug!"

Almost as soon as he released me, I felt another arm around me. This one was around my waist, and it was Eric's. He thrust his hand out to shake Quinn's.

"Hey man, I'm Eric, Sookie's _boyfriend_."

I stared up at him incredulously. Eric, my Eric, was being possessive. I know another guy hugged me, and I know Eric was probably just doing the whole "marking his territory" thing, but being territory sort of sucked. It made me think back to the library earlier, I didn't end up marking my territory this way. It was marked, sure, but it was a hell of a lot more subtle. The way he was going about it showed that he _needed_ to mark his territory. As if he constantly needed to show I was his when we were around other guys. I felt like I was being kept on a leash.

Granted, I was probably digging a bit too deep, but after the night I'd had, that was how I felt. Also, I'm a woman.

"Oh, she was just telling me about you. Nice to meet you," Quinn said as he shook his hand, and I was hoping it would make Eric feel ridiculous, but then he had to go and be Quinn again. "You're really lucky to be with Sookie. The girl is dynamite with her hands and mouth, if you know what I mean."

My jaw dropped, and Eric's grip around me tightened.

"Excuse me?" Eric asked, stepping forward slightly.

"Yeah, you didn't know we dated?" Quinn said, completely clueless that what he'd just said was completely inappropriate.

Before Eric could answer, Sam came out of the kitchen and told Quinn he needed to show him something. They left Eric and me standing there, and I didn't know what to say. I was livid. First, I was ticked at Quinn, and then Eric had to get possessive, and then Quinn had to say something that I knew would cause an issue with Eric and me.

"Eric…" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"I'll see you when your work is done," he mumbled, and went back to his table.

I was pissed. He wasn't even going to let me explain. He chose to sit and stew on it, and God only knows what kinds of conclusions he was coming to. _Then let him_, I thought spitefully. He could just sit there and think about lewd things between me and Quinn, and feel like an idiot when he finds out the truth.

Amelia finished up her work before me, so she and Tray went ahead and left. I didn't get the chance to tell her what had happened, and I was really hoping that Tray was going to stay at his apartment so we could talk. I knew that with Amelia and Tray, there were no guarantees, so I went ahead and texted "girl talk night" to her so she knew we needed to be alone.

As I was finishing up, I saw Quinn hitting on Missie. The poor girl was too nice to be rude to him, so she was listening to him and clearly uncomfortable. Sam was staring at them, and he looked pissed. I went to Sam to give him the push he needed.

"Sam, he's hitting on her, and she doesn't like it. Go save her. Ask her to go see that new horror movie. I think the late show starts in an hour. You'd get a one-up on Quinn too."

A slow smile crept across his lips, and he walked right up to them. I listened in.

"Excuse me," he said. "Missie, I was wondering if you wanted to go to a movie with me tonight. There's a late show that starts in about an hour."

Missie's whole face lit up with her smile, and just seeing it made my night better. At least someone was going to have a good night, and boy did those two ever deserve it.

"I'd love to," she said. "I just need to clock out, and then I'll run home and change. Would you mind if I met you there?"

"Sure thing," Sam replied, his smile just as big.

Quinn left in the middle of their exchange. He had no more waitresses to hit on for the night.

I did the last of my side work, and went over to get Eric. He looked completely lost in thought, and when I said his name, he snapped out of it and looked at me with cold eyes. I hated it, and it only ticked me off more. He got out of the booth, and we left the restaurant. He didn't try to hold my hand or put an arm around me.

"We need to talk," I said stiffly.

"Yes we do," he replied.

"You need to cut out the possessive bullshit," I said, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What are you talking about? Don't try to turn this around. We both know this is really about Quinn and the fact that you lied to me."

"I did no such thing. You started this crap when you had to mark your territory."

"I don't like that guy. He wouldn't stop looking at you, and then he hugged you…"

"Oh, so it's okay for you to get eye fucked every day by Selah, but if Quinn even looks in my direction, there's a problem?"

"What? Selah doesn't eye fuck me. She's a nice woman."

I let out a frustrated growl, and continued walking at a fast pace. Eric quickly followed behind me and started talking again.

"And yes, there is a problem with Quinn looking at you. Especially since you've been with him and didn't tell me about it."

"Screw you," I said, not willing to explain anything at that moment anymore.

"So you're not denying it?" he asked.

"I'm not talking to you right now. You can just go on to your apartment tonight."

"Fine," he huffed.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, and to his credit, he did give me a kiss on the cheek and tell me goodnight before I went inside. When I walked into the apartment Amelia was waiting with chocolate. I collapsed on the couch next to her and ten pieces of chocolate later I had spilled everything.

"You two need to talk. You need to tell him what really happened with Quinn."

"I know, but he's being such a jerk about it. He's acting like I slept with Quinn and outright lied to him about it. I've never even seen the man's penis!"

"Look at it from his perspective. You are the first girlfriend he's ever had, and he's madly in love with you. He sees another guy staring at you like he wants to fuck you all night, and then that guy hugs you… he's going to get a little possessive. And then he finds out that you've been intimate with that guy and didn't tell him about it. Of course he's upset. That's how he sees it. I can totally understand your side of it too, but you really need to talk to him."

I took a deep breath. "You're right. Maybe I should go over there," I said, suddenly missing him.

"Oh no you don't. You both need to sleep on it. Let this be a lesson to both of you."

"Can I at least call him and let him know that I'm not angry?"

She nodded, and gave me a hug before heading off to bed. I took another deep breath, and called him. The phone only rang twice before he answered it.

"I'm sorry," he said immediately.

"I'm sorry too."

"It doesn't matter to me if you did anything with him."

"We need to talk about all this, but not tonight. I think we both need to sleep on it, and we'll talk about it tomorrow. I just wanted you to know that I'm not angry."

"Okay. You don't work tomorrow, right?"

"No, I don't."

"Can I call you when I get done at the library?"

"Of course you can."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you, Eric."

"I love you too, Sookie."

* * *

**Aww, see! They still love each other! Everything will be totes fine, I promise. This is all part of the story arc I'm working on, and this first little "couple fight" of theirs is important. **

**Another shoutout to S Meadows for being so awesome about being written into fics as Missie. Meads is super sweet, and again, if you aren't reading her stories go do so now. I hope you like your part Meads!**

**Thanks so much for reading! I can't wait to see what ya'll think of this one!**


	27. Explanations and Fantasies

**Hey ya'll! Another chapter! Yay! This one has two lemons to make up for the lack of them in the last chapter. Not that every chapter needs lemons or anything... **

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm back on track with replying to them! Go me! And rememer not to be too shy to review! I used to be too shy to say anything too, but believe me, it makes an author's day to get a review.**

**Huge thanks to FDM for taking the highlighter and ink to this chapter. *facepalm* It was a mess before she tackled it. **

* * *

Chapter 27

When Tray and I went in to eat supper at the restaurant, I was in a really good mood. My day at work had gone really well. Selah was really nice, and seemed okay with Sookie stopping in to see me. I ended up staying until five, and then went to my apartment for a bit. I tried to see if Tray wanted to stay with Amelia again because all I could think about was Sookie and I christening my bookshelves. I wondered if I could convince her to christen the desk too.

Tray said he needed to talk to Amelia first because they weren't planning on spending the night together. We played a video game for a couple of hours, and then headed to the restaurant. We got to sit in Amelia's section, but Sookie was too busy to stop by right away.

We ordered our food, and were talking when a really tall bald guy about our age started talking loudly to the guys in the booth behind us. They seemed to know him, and called him Quinn. He immediately started bragging about sex, and my jaw almost dropped. He was boasting about some girl he slept with the night before, and how he gave her twelve orgasms in an hour. I looked at Tray, and he rolled his eyes and shook his head, but didn't say anything about him. One of the other guys asked him if he'd nailed any of the waitresses yet.

"No man, it's my first night. Gotta let them warm up to me a bit," he said.

"What about that blonde one over there," one of the guys said.

"Oh, Sookie. She certainly is one fine piece, isn't she? I know her from way back. Haven't seen her in a while though. I keep putting the moves on her, but she's playing hard to get. Don't worry though. I'll have her soon."

I didn't notice how hard I was gripping my glass until Tray kicked me under the table. He shook his head.

"Not worth it," he said.

Luckily, Quinn walked away, and our food was brought to us, so I had something to distract myself with. The guys in the booth behind us kept talking though, and they seemed to be groupies of Quinn's. They couldn't stop talking about him being some kind of sex god, and how they wished they could get as many girls as him. I was feeling really inferior. How the hell do you give a woman twelve orgasms in an hour?

I was thinking so much that I couldn't even finish my food, which was sad, because it was delicious.

Sookie was finally able to come over to see me, and she immediately picked up my unfinished burger and took a couple of bites, then followed it with a drink of my water. She seemed surprised that she did it, but it didn't bother me at all. I was happy that she was comfortable enough in our relationship to know that I wouldn't be upset by her eating off my plate.

She had to leave as quickly as she came, and I felt a lot better after seeing her. Tray and I talked, and Amelia came over to see us a lot. When she told us it was winding down, I kept an eye out for Sookie. When I did, I noticed that someone else was doing the same-Quinn. Every time Sookie had to bend over, he was staring at her ass. Thankfully, the uniform was a t-shirt, so he couldn't look down her shirt as easily. I was bothered because I knew he wanted to sleep with her, and while I knew Sookie wouldn't cheat on me, I also knew that Quinn would probably be better than me.

I was consumed by self-doubt until I saw Quinn stop Sookie and ask for her help with something. I watched them curiously as they talked, but when he wrapped his arms around Sookie I shot out of that booth and almost ran to them. As soon as he released her I put my arm around her and introduced myself.

His first response almost made me feel foolish. Maybe he and Sookie used to be friends, and he hadn't realized she had a boyfriend when he was talking to the other guys, and he was only hugging her in congratulations? Then he continued speaking.

"You're really lucky to be with Sookie. The girl is dynamite with her hands and mouth, if you know what I mean."

I was livid.

"Excuse me?" I said as I started to take a step forward, ready to pummel him for saying such a thing about Sookie.

"Yeah, you didn't know we dated?" He asked.

What the fuck? Before anything else could be said or done, Sam came and got Quinn to show him something, leaving Sookie and I standing there alone. I needed time to process what had just happened, so when Sookie started to say something, I cut her off and told her I'd see her when she finished, and went to sit back down. Amelia was finishing up, so she and Tray left, and I was alone with my thoughts.

At first I was sure that he was lying, but if that were the case, why say it in front of the girl you were lying about? What if he was telling the truth? Had Sookie lied to me about how many men she'd been with? Was she worried that I wouldn't have wanted her if she'd been with more than one guy? What if she told me about Bill instead of Quinn because Quinn was so good in bed? She had told me that I was the best she'd ever had, but perhaps she was trying to protect my ego.

By the time she came over to tell me she was done, I was pissed. Hurt and pissed. I knew I was being rude to her, but in my mind she had lied to me. Then when we started talking on the walk home, and she went and accused me of being possessive, like that was the reason we were upset with each other. I stopped walking, and argued with her.

"What are you talking about? Don't try to turn this around. We both know this is really about Quinn and the fact that you lied to me."

"I did no such thing. You started this crap when you had to mark your territory."

Okay, that was true, I had pulled the man-marking-his-territory thing, but it didn't erase the fact that she lied to me.

"I don't like that guy. He wouldn't stop looking at you, and then he hugged you…"

"Oh, so it's okay for you to get eye fucked every day by Selah, but if Quinn even looks in my direction, there's a problem?"

"What? Selah doesn't eye fuck me. She's a nice woman," I said, but the more I thought about it, I realized that she did always seem to be looking in my direction. Sookie got frustrated and started walking away. I followed and continued the argument. She wasn't going to brush all this off on me. "And yes, there is a problem with Quinn looking at you. Especially since you've been with him and didn't tell me about it."

"Screw you," she said. I'd never heard her be so blatantly bitchy.

"So you're not denying it?" I asked.

"I'm not talking to you right now. You can just go on to your apartment tonight."

"Fine."

We didn't talk the rest of the way, but once we got there I couldn't help but give her a kiss on the cheek and say goodnight. It was a habit I didn't want to break. I watched her go inside, and then went back to my apartment. Tray was playing video games, and I walked in and plopped down on the couch next to him.

"What happened?" He asked without looking at me.

"Sookie and I got into a fight," I said solemnly.

"About what?" he asked, still focusing on his game.

"Quinn," I said, and he laughed.

"Why are you fighting about Quinn? The guy's a douche."

"Because she's done stuff with him, and didn't tell me," I said. "Wait, do you know what she did with him?"

"No, Amelia never told me. She just said that he was a douche bag, and that Sookie wasn't seeing him anymore."

"That doesn't help," I grumbled.

"Why do you need to know what happened with them? Is it really going to change how you feel about her?" he asked.

I thought about that. Did it really, honestly matter if she'd been with another guy before she met me? No, it didn't. I would be upset that she didn't tell me about it, and it may cause a trust issue, but I knew we could work it out. I still loved her, and that was all that mattered.

Suddenly, I wasn't angry anymore. All I wanted was to be next to Sookie. I felt like an ass, and was debating going over to her apartment when my phone rang. I jumped up, and ran into my room with it, and immediately answered with, "I'm sorry."

She said the same thing, and I felt relieved. I didn't like fighting with her. I told her that it didn't matter if she'd been with Quinn, but she skirted around it by saying that we would talk about it, but we needed to sleep on it first. I actually agreed with her, and after she agreed to let me call her when I got off work the next day, we said our "I love you's" and got off the phone.

I didn't sleep all that well that night, but I did wake up feeling positive that Sookie and I would work out our issues. I dressed in the sweater I liked to see her in the most, hoping I'd get the chance to later. It didn't hurt to think positive, did it?

I was really distracted at the library, but not enough to miss that Selah _was_ staring at me a lot. Perhaps Sookie was right about her. I resolved not to encourage her in any way. I didn't want her thinking that I would be willing to do anything inappropriate with her.

I used the quiet time in the library to think about why I had been so upset with Sookie. It only took me about five hours to realize that I really wasn't upset with her. Yeah, I was hurt that she didn't tell me about Quinn, but I didn't know all the pertinent facts when it came to that. My real issue was in my insecurities. As soon as I realized it, I knew it was true, and I really hoped I wouldn't have to bring it up with Sookie. It was too embarrassing to admit.

All too soon, I had finished my work, and it was time to call Sookie. She said she fixed supper for Amelia and Tray, so they would be preoccupied at her place for a while, and she'd meet me at my apartment. I was nervous, but glad that soon we'd have everything worked out between us. At least I hoped we would.

Sookie was sitting on the floor next to the door of my apartment when I got there. She got up when she saw me coming, and I immediately embraced her.

"I missed you," she whispered.

"Me too," I whispered back. "What were you doing on the floor?"

She laughed. "They got an early start, so I headed over here."

"I need to get you a key," I said. "I can't believe I haven't done that already."

She started shifting her eyes around and blushed a bit, "You don't have to do that, Eric."

"Yes, I do. I should've done it already."

She nodded, and followed me into the apartment. I got her a soda, and myself a glass of water, and we sat the living room to start our conversation.

"I don't know how to begin," I said.

"I'll start," she offered. I nodded. "I overreacted with the whole possessiveness thing. I can understand why you reacted that way, and I shouldn't have faulted you for it. I had been having a bad day, and after what Quinn said I knew I needed to explain, which I was about to do and then you just shut me out… Don't get me wrong, I get why you did, but it was just frustrating."

I moved closer to her, and put my arm around her. "I'm sorry about that. You don't need to explain about Quinn. I have to admit that I am hurt that you didn't tell me about him to begin with, but you don't have to now."

"Which is exactly why I _need_ to tell you about him," she started.

"No, you really don't," I insisted.

She paused, and pulled away from me. I watched her nervously as she tucked one leg underneath her and angled to face me.

"Why don't you want to know?" she asked cautiously.

"I just don't."

"Eric, what is this about? You can't go from being really possessive and upset about me not telling you about a guy, to not wanting to know what happened with him. Something else is going on in that head of yours."

I stared timidly at her, but didn't say anything. She took my hand, and got up off the couch, pulling me with her.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

She didn't answer me, and kept walking down the hall, and into my bedroom where she kicked off her shoes and got on the bed. I kicked mine off as well and sat in front of her.

"I've always seen the bedroom as a place that we share. We've had a lot of history in here already, and not being truthful would taint that. So I think we should make a deal right now to never lie to each other, or be anything but truthful in here," she said. "I know it sounds hokey, but if this is what it takes to get you to talk to me, then I'm willing to do it. Also, it's not that bad of an idea."

I smiled. "Okay, you have yourself a deal."

"Good, now talk to me. What's bothering you so much that you don't want to know about Quinn?"

I took a deep breath to prepare for laying myself bare, and began, "When we were at the restaurant last night, Quinn came up and started talking to some buddies of his in the booth behind us. He bragged about himself a lot. The guys treated him like he was some sort of sex god. Then he started talking about the waitresses, and one of them pointed out you, and he made it known that he knew you, and would have you soon. He did say that you'd been playing hard to get, which I took to mean that you had been refusing him."

She nodded, "So what's the problem? Quinn's always been a talker."

"The problem is that he hit on one of my insecurities," I said cautiously. I hated that this was even an issue for me. She stayed silent, but took my hand. "Hearing some of the things he said… they were things I could never imagine being able to do, so I know he's got to be really skilled, and I know that you say I'm the best you've ever had, but what if you're just protecting me? What if you eventually get tired of me because I'm not good enough, and you go back to someone like Quinn, knowing he can give you what you wa… why… Sookie, why are you laughing?"

"I… I'm sorry," she giggled, and continued laughing hard. It went from making me feel confused, to making me laugh a bit along with her, to making me confused again, and then annoyed because I had no clue what she was laughing at.

"Sookie…" I said.

"It's… It's not you," she managed to breathe out.

"Then what is it? I just made a pretty big confession, and you're laughing."

She sobered up pretty quick after that, but a smile still remained.

"Eric, I'm going to be completely honest with you. You have absolutely nothing to fear in that department. Nothing at all. You _are_ the best I've ever had, and I've never told you anything that wasn't true about your sexual skills."

I couldn't help the slow grin that crossed my face at her confession. I nodded, but suddenly wanted to know what happened with her and Quinn. Luckily, she seemed to understand that.

"I also think it's time I told you what happened with Quinn."

"Okay."

"I went on two dates with him the summer before college. He didn't try anything on the first date, so I thought he had potential, especially for someone who had dated so many women. Then, on the second date, we kissed in his car before I went inside. Mind you, we were just kissing. As in, our lips were the only things touching. I put my hand on his knee while we were kissing, and he came."

My jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, the man had an orgasm from a kiss, and my hand on his knee. That's where he got his whole 'she's dynamite with her hands and mouth' thing from. He's always had to be quite literal."

"So… when he said he gave a woman twelve orgasms in an hour…"

"He was probably lying. I highly doubt Quinn has ever given a woman one orgasm. I've tried not to make fun of him, because I'm pretty sure it's a medical condition, but it's often hard not to laugh about it. My point is that guys will talk themselves up all the time, and the loudest ones are the ones that probably suck the most. I know that you are amazing in bed, and you know it, so that's all that matters. You leave me way more than satisfied, way more often than you have to. I am the luckiest girl in the world."

"So me, as a virgin, managed to last longer than a guy who's been with probably more than a dozen women?" I asked, suddenly feeling cocky.

"Yes. Yes, you did," she said, smiling.

"I have nothing to worry about?"

"Nope. Eric, I don't even fantasize about celebrities anymore. You're _that_ good. Just don't let all this information go to your head and stop trying, okay?"

"I won't," I said, still smiling, but with a certain leer.

"Tray is probably going to stay over there a little while longer," she began, and my grin grew. "What do you think about heading into your study? I think I saw a book in there I wanted to read."

With that, she slowly got off the bed, and walked out of the room. I quickly got up and followed after her after I picked my jaw up off the floor. I had a huge set of bookshelves, and a desk in there, and I wondered if I could get her to fulfill both of my fantasies. I walked in the room and shut the door behind me. Sookie was standing in front of the bookcase, looking up at the top shelf. She turned around when she heard the door shut and had a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Oh good, a tall man," she said. "There's a book up there that I just can't seem to reach. Would you mind getting it for me?"

"Of course," I said. "I wouldn't want to leave you in need."

She turned back around, and I walked up behind her. I placed my hands on her hips, and leaned down to breath in the scent of her hair.

"Which one is it?" I whispered in her ear.

She pressed back against me, and said, "Whoops, it's this one right here." She grabbed a random book from the shelf directly in front of her.

"Hmm… Is there anything else you need my help with?" I asked as I pressed myself against her even more, and placed both hands on the shelves on either side of her.

"Well, I was really looking forward to fucking my boyfriend against these shelves last night, but we weren't able to unfortunately," she said, and then turned around in my arms to face me. "Maybe you could help me out."

"Gladly," I said, and captured her lips with mine.

She made quick work of getting my pants undone, and I had her bra unhooked in record time. Our lips broke apart long enough for us to get our tops off, and then they connected again while we quickly worked each other's pants off. As soon as we were completely naked, I kissed my way down her body until I was kneeling on the floor in front of her.

She braced her arms on the shelves as I lifted one of her legs and placed it on my shoulder. I buried my face between her thighs. She was extremely turned on, and extremely wet. I used one hand to reach around and grab a handful of her gorgeous ass, pulling her towards me at the same time. The other hand I used to slip two fingers into her hot, tight depths as my tongue massaged her clit. She was moaning out my name repeatedly, and before long she moved her leg from my shoulder, and pulled me up to her.

"I need you now," she gasped out.

I kissed her deeply as I grasped her hips, and lifted her to the appropriate height. She moaned when I reached down between us and rubbed my tip along her wet folds.

"Please, Eric," she begged.

I quickly thrust all the way into her, and groaned in ecstasy. I loved the way she felt around me. She panted as she adjusted to me, and I held her tightly. When she began to move her hips I pulled out a little, and thrust back in. She moved one of her legs from the shelf it was on, and wrapped it around my waist, and the slightly different angle it caused made her moan. I grinned, and began to slowly fuck her.

I closed my eyes and imagined that we were back in the library on the day I first kissed her. I increased my pace at the thought, and she began moaning louder.

"Oh god, Eric. I'm about to come," she groaned into my ear as her walls began to tighten around me.

I was about to explode as well, so I whispered heatedly in her ear, "Come with me."

Her reaction was instant, and I exploded inside her as she clenched around me. She rocked her hips as we came down from the mutual high, and I moaned again. I loved it when she did that. I grabbed her other leg and placed it around my waist, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck. I took a step back, and sat on the floor with my back against the shelves, Sookie still wrapped around me.

"Can I make a confession?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"You just fulfilled one of my fantasies," I told her.

She sat up, and looked at me, surprise evident in her eyes. "Really? That was one of my fantasies."

I laughed. "Does that mean it doesn't count? I mean, if we both had the same fantasy and unwittingly fulfilled it, so we should make it a point to fulfill a fantasy that's unique to the other, right?"

"Eric, you don't have to dress it up with words. Just tell me your fantasy," she smiled.

"I want have sex with you on a desk, and I mean that I want to bend you over the desk, and take you from behind," I said in a low voice.

She stared at me with a lusty heat in her eyes, and I felt more wetness between her legs.

"Would you like that, Sookie?"

"I think I wouldn't have a problem helping you fulfill that fantasy," she answered breathily.

"Tell me one of your fantasies."

She immediately blushed, and refused to meet my gaze.

"Sookie, you can tell me anything," I said as I rubbed her back.

"I sort of… I want to tie you up to the bed, blindfold you, and take control," she said quietly, still not meeting my eyes. I caught her chin with my hand, whispered for her to look at me. She did, and I kissed her lips gently.

"I don't think I'll have a problem helping you fulfill that fantasy," I said, repeating her words back to her. She smiled.

"Are you sure? I know it's a little extreme, but the idea of having all the control… I mean, I'm not into pain. Not at all. I just…"

"Sookie, I understand. Bill took all of your control, and the idea of wielding all of it is extremely powerful to you."

"Yeah," she nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Why don't we work on mine for now," I said to change the subject. "We've got the desk in here and everything, and Tray's still gone."

"Oh, you mean you can go again so soon?" She teased, and then stood up. I groaned from the loss of her warmth, and quickly got up off the floor.

Sookie walked over to the desk, sat on top of it, and gave me a look that said, "come fuck me now." I was more than happy to oblige.

"Are you going to tell me when this particular thing became a fantasy of yours?" she asked.

I stepped between her legs, and ran my hands down her arms. "We were getting up to leave one day, and you had a pen on your book. When you picked the book up the pen rolled off of it and stopped on the other side of the table. Instead of walking around to get it, you bent over the top of the table to reach it. Let's just say it was a bit of an uncomfortable walk home."

"I guess I'll have to make it up to you now then, won't I?" she asked as she scooted forward on the desk, and hopped off of it. She reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me down for a sensual kiss, and then she slowly broke the kiss and turned around. She pressed her ass against me, and I groaned at the feel of her soft flesh. I reached around and palmed her breasts as I kissed and sucked on her neck while rhythmically moving my hips against her. When she began to moan, I reached down and began massaging her clit.

"Oh Jesus, Eric. Now, please now," she begged.

I smirked as I gently pushed on her shoulders, urging her to brace herself on the desk. She shivered as I ran my hands down her back and groped at the flesh of her ass. I rubbed the tip of my cock along her glistening folds until she whimpered with want, and then I slowly inched in until I was filling her completely.

Slow was exactly how I wanted it until she asked for more. I loved it when she gave in and told me what she wanted. As I continued to thrust slowly into her, I let my hands explore her body. Her soft skin was slightly damp with sweat, and I wanted to lick every inch of her. I reached around and began playing with her nipples, causing her breathing to pick up. She turned her head to capture my lips, and while we kissed her fingers threaded into my hair. Then she broke the kiss, gave my hair a sharp tug, and panted, "Faster. Please go faster."

I growled and gripped her hips as she braced herself on the desk again. I began thrusting faster, rutting into her with everything I had, spurred on by the groans she was making. All I could focus on were the sounds coming from her, and the way she felt around me. She dropped her head to the desk and began pushing back into my thrusts harder. I knew she was about to come, so I reached around, and with one flick of my finger over her clit, she came, crying out my name.

I pumped hard a few more times through her orgasm, and came deep within her, her name and a few curses the only things my brain would allow me to say. My hips continued to jerk with the aftershocks, and after they subsided I slowly pulled out of her and picked her up.

"What are you doing?" she asked, giggling.

"I'm taking you to the bathroom so we can shower, of course," I replied, and kissed her nose.

I walked us to the bathroom naked, completely forgetting that I didn't live alone anymore. Luckily, Tray still wasn't back yet, or else Sookie might have killed me. I got us into the bathroom without incident though, and set Sookie on her feet while I got the water started. When I got it hot enough, I turned around to find her staring directly at my ass, just like I expected. She saw that she was caught, but only shrugged, and stepped around me to get into the shower. I chuckled, and got in after her.

Showering with Sookie was one of my favorite things to do. Not only was I with her while she was naked, but it was twenty minutes of simply being together, of taking care of one another. I'd wash her hair; she'd attempt to wash mine. Then we'd lather up each other's bodies, and sometimes it would lead to more, but more often than not, we'd shower without sex.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"How much I love showering with you," I answered honestly.

"Why? 'Cause you get to see me naked?"

I grinned. "Yes, that. Also because I love taking care of you, and I love you taking care of me. That's what this is. Us taking care of each other, because we love one another."

She smiled. "Has anyone ever told you that you think like a girl?"

I laughed. "Not until just now, no they haven't. Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all. It's refreshing to know a man who's not afraid to admit things like that. I attribute it to the home schooling. You weren't around guys that would admonish you for it."

"No."

"No?"

"No, it's not the home schooling. I'm like this because I love you. You mean the world to me, and when we fought… I just don't like fighting with you."

"I don't like it either. I'm sorry it even had to happen," she said and looked away.

"It's not your fault. You had no reason to tell me about him. The whole thing was my fault and…"

She put her fingers to my lips. "Shh… let's not think about it anymore. Everything is good now, and that's all that matters."

I nodded and kissed her fingers. She smiled, and wrapped her arms around my neck. I leaned down and captured her lips with mine, wrapping my arms around her waist as I did. We were content just kissing like that until the water ran cold and we were forced to rinse off and get out.

We dried each other off, and wrapped towels around us before heading back to my room to get dressed. Sookie had begun leaving some clothes at my place, so she put on a pair of yoga pants and after I grabbed our clothes from the office, she took my sweater. I grinned to myself because I knew she'd wear it.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said as I wrapped my arms around her. "Let's go to the kitchen. I'll make us some supper."

"That sounds wonderful. I'm so hungry. I was too nervous to eat earlier, and now I've gone and worked up an appetite."

"Since that's my fault, I think I should do the cooking. How does that sound?"

"Even better."

We walked out to the kitchen, and Sookie sat on the counter while I cooked. Just as I was finishing everything up, Tray walked in.

"Oh my god, what smells so good?" He hollered.

Sookie and I took one look at each other and burst into laughter. Yes, all was right in the universe again. At least for now.

* * *

**So, I hope that getting Eric's POV on the happenings at the restaurant helped in understanding why he reacted the way he did. **

**What did you think of their fantasies? *giggles* Wanna see Sookie tie Eric to the bed and take control? I promise there won't be anything like whips or bondage. Just some handcuffs or a scarf. I sooo couldn't write something too extreme *shakes head vigorously* No way, no how. **

**Update on progress: WDMC's next chaper is coming along. Sunkisz is whipping me into writing it again. The first chapter of my halloween contest fic expansion is done, I think. I'm not too sure about that one, but please, please make sure you have me on author alert so you don't miss it, because I'm going to be posting it as a new story. I'll leave the one shot up, but the expansion will stand alone. And the first chapter to my new angsty fic, titled Never Say Never, is done and off to my beta-loves. I'm going to get a few of those in the can before I start posting it though. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's shit coming up! LOL**

**The finalists in the Eric and his Great Pumpkin contest should be announced soon, so keep an eye out for that, and vote!**

http://www . fanfiction . net/~EricandhisGreatPumpkin [remove spaces]


	28. Kisses, Stubborness, and Showers

***clears throat***

**First of all... I'm so sorry this took so long to update... explanation below. Enjoy now :)**

Chapter 28

Since the night in Eric's apartment when we talked about fantasies, and fulfilled a couple of his, things were great between us. He was feeling way more confident about his sexual abilities--enough to even act a bit smug around Quinn. I don't actually know if Eric said something to Quinn or not, but he never bothered me about dating him again.

It had been a few weeks since that whole fiasco, and Eric would always gently ask if I wanted to fulfill my fantasy, but I really didn't. It was something I really wanted to do, yes, but for some reason the timing seemed off. He actually seemed a little down every time I said no, and that amused me. I wondered if he liked the idea of relinquishing control as much as I enjoyed the idea of holding it.

Things at work hadn't changed a whole lot. Sam worked a little harder, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face. He and Missie were quickly falling in love, and it was one of the most glorious things I'd ever witnessed. They were always smiling and making mooneyes at each other.

As for Eric and his skanky boss Selah, things hadn't changed there either. Eric still worked at the library, and I didn't have a problem with that. The library was open on Sundays for a few hours in the afternoon, and Selah scheduled Eric for it every week. He still got off work in time to come to Sunday night dinner, but I was always a little sad because Eric and I loved to spend our Sunday's together. We compromised by spending the morning together until he had to go to work, and then I'd meet him there to walk back to my apartment with him when he was done. Then we'd spend time with Amelia and Tray and have dinner.

All in all, I was happy as a clam. My relationship with Eric was going wonderfully, work was great ever since Quinn stopped hitting on me, all my friends were in high spirits, and best of all I was finally feeling complete again. For the first time since everything had happened with my parents and Bill, I didn't feel the need to be afraid of anything. I knew without a doubt that I could trust Eric, which was freeing in a way. I also learned to trust myself more, to stop questioning my choices and go with my heart.

I was on my way to the library to meet Eric for Sunday night dinner, and I couldn't stop smiling. I had finally decided to go with my fantasy, and I hadn't told him yet. I even bought some handcuffs, which were really hard to explain to Amelia. She figured out what they were for and couldn't stop giggling, until I told her that they were for Eric and not me. Then she just looked impressed.

It was about five minutes from closing time when I arrived at the library, and when I went inside, my smile quickly faded and my heart stopped. Eric and Selah were standing behind the checkout counter, kissing.

I guess you couldn't really call it kissing. I saw the whole thing happen. It looked like they were talking, and then Selah grabbed him and pulled him down to her for a kiss. He was stiff at first, and then for the briefest of seconds I could tell that he kissed her back. Almost as quickly as he did, he was pushing her away from him.

"What do you think you're doing?" he said angrily. "I have a girlfriend!"

She smiled sweetly at him and said, "She doesn't have to know," while reaching up to run her fingers through his hair.

He grabbed her wrist and stilled it before replying evenly, but with enough force to let her know he meant it, "I do _not_ cheat on my girlfriend."

He dropped her hand in disgust, and then turned to leave, but stopped as soon as he saw me.

EPOV

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit._

_How much did she see? Is she pissed? She's gonna break up with me. Fuck, I fucked up. She'll never forgive me. Wait, why is she smiling?_

I stood there in disbelief as Sookie smiled brightly and walked right up to me. At first I thought she'd slap me, or lash out, but she didn't. She reached up and pulled my head to hers. I received the kind of kiss from her that we normally reserve for when we're alone. While she continued to kiss me, her hands snaked around me and gave my ass a firm squeeze. I jumped a little and felt her grin against my mouth.

When she released me, she was still smiling. "I missed you today," she said.

I was speechless. She had to have seen everything. I didn't understand how she was staying so calm.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

I could only nod.

Sookie looked past me and nodded sweetly at my former boss. Yes, I would be quitting.

"Selah," she said, and it finally hit me what she was doing. My girl was marking her territory. She was showing that I was hers, and fuck me was it ever hot.

She took my hand in hers and we walked out of the library together, but as soon as we were away from the front window she dropped my hand, crossed her arms over her chest, and began walking at a fast pace.

I was thoroughly confused. I expected her to be upset when she saw the kiss, but she was just the opposite, and then I was happy because she wasn't upset and now she was acting as though I didn't exist. Women were really freaking confusing.

"Sookie?" I asked.

Nothing.

"Are you mad?"

Still nothing.

"I'm sorry. She just did it. I didn't want her to. It was so wrong"

Again, no response.

"Are you mad that I kissed her back?" I asked, and she stiffened a bit, but still said nothing. "It was only for a split second. I think it's because I've never kissed anyone else. I had to know if it was different. She was different, but it was horrible. It was so wrong. I'm so sorry. It wasn't right; she wasn't you. Nobody can compare to you. I hated it, Sookie. I fucked up." I couldn't stop spewing words for anything, and I was almost positive I was digging myself a hole. "You hate me, don't you? I didn't lead her on or anything. Dammit, I told her last time…"

Sookie stopped walking so suddenly I almost ran into her. "Last time?!" she yelled, and started walking back towards the library.

I caught her arm and stopped her. "It was an accident! We were putting up books, and I bent down to get one when she stood up and she kind of gave me a peck. She said she didn't mean to, and I told her it couldn't happen again. I swear that's the truth. I didn't tell you because I honestly didn't think it was a big deal."

She stared into my pleading eyes for what felt like forever, and then she let out a frustrated sounding, "UGH!" before pulling her arm from my hand and stomping off ahead of me once more.

I hung my head in temporary defeat and walked about a foot behind her the whole way back to her apartment. She let me follow her inside so I assumed that I was welcome still. As soon as we were in the apartment she went stomping off to the kitchen, and I trudged into the living room and sat down next to Tray.

"Why's Sookie stomping?" he asked without looking up from his video game.

"She's mad at me," I said pathetically.

"If there's one thing I learned from that shit at Christmas it's to not jump to conclusions. So I'm going to assume that this is a misunderstanding and let you two hash it out. Grab a remote," he said.

Freaking Tray.

I sighed and grabbed the other remote, and we played until Amelia came in to tell us that supper was ready. She was looking at me warily, but not hatefully, so I was assuming that Sookie hadn't told her what happened.

The tension at dinner was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Sookie was tight-lipped and wouldn't look at me or speak to me. Tray and Amelia kept looking back and forth between Sookie and I and each other. I tried to break the silence by complimenting Sookie on the dinner, but didn't get much reaction. I could smell her delicious apple crisp baking in the oven, and knew I was even more fucked. Sookie only made that on special occasions, and I wondered what was supposed to have been celebrated before my fuck up.

"The apple crisp smells delicious," I said innocently. "I wonder if it's done."

"I know when it'll be done, Eric. Don't you _trust_ that I can handle it?" Sookie hissed at me.

My eyes immediately went back to my plate, and I didn't say another word for the rest of dinner and dessert. Sookie and Amelia elected to clean everything up and as soon as Tray and I were back in the living room he asked me what the hell was going on.

"Selah kissed me and Sookie saw it. She made a big show of staking her claim in front of Selah, but ever since we left she's been giving me the cold shoulder. I have no clue what to do," I said, hoping he would ignore the part about the kiss.

"You didn't kiss Selah back, did you?" he asked evenly.

"For about a split second, and then I pushed her away and told her I didn't cheat," I replied honestly.

"And Sookie saw that part too?"

"Yes."

Tray surprised me then. He laughed. The asshole laughed, patted me on the back, and said one word.

"Grovel."

I groaned and waited for Sookie to get done in the kitchen. About an hour later, she and Amelia came out. Amelia and Tray retired to her bedroom, and Sookie completely ignored me. She walked back to her room, acting like I wasn't there, and even shut her door.

I was still in apologetic mode, and immediately followed her like a puppy. It was pathetic, really. I opened the door to find her undressing. She must have known it was me because she didn't stop.

"Sookie, can we talk?" I asked.

She continued to ignore me, and finished getting undressed before pulling on her robe and walking past me to head to the bathroom. I let out a frustrated noise and followed her… again.

When I walked in she slowly and seductively let her robe fall to the floor, almost as though she did it on purpose. She was really freaking confusing the heck out of me. As she stepped into the shower, I began talking again.

"Sookie, please talk to me. Are you pissed? Are you just upset? Will you just talk to me?"

She didn't say a thing. I was getting tired of talking to a shower curtain. I paced back and forth a bit, growing more and more frustrated, until I'd finally had enough.

SPOV

I was starting to wane on the whole cold shoulder thing, and thinking about inviting him into the shower with me so we could talk when Eric took matters into his own hands. The curtain ripped back, and I was suddenly joined by a fully-clothed, very frustrated boyfriend.

He looked desperate as he grasped my upper arms. His grip wasn't tight, or even firm for that matter. It was like he just needed a point of contact. Suddenly I was angry. I wanted to be the one to let him in, and he was doing it himself.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I tried to shrug him off, but he wouldn't budge.

"Trying to get you to talk to me," he hissed, and I realized just how angry I had made him.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know! Something!" he yelled and let me go to run his fingers through his wet hair.

I was finally struck by his appearance. Underneath the anger and the desperation… he looked scared. The water was beating down on him, but he didn't pay any attention to it. I was about to say something when he went off again.

"Jesus, Sookie, it didn't mean anything. It was a mistake, and it won't ever happen again. I don't even want to work there anymore. Please believe me. Please," he said.

I could see everything in his eyes. He was torn open for me to see all his vulnerability, his anxiety, and the love and passion he had for me. Immediately I softened towards him. I had decided as soon as I saw him push her away that it wasn't cheating, and the only reason I was giving him the cold shoulder was because it did hurt to see him kiss another woman, and I had warned him about her. I planned on talking it out on the way back to the apartment, but when he said that Selah had kissed him once before it made me want to extend it. He didn't trust that I could handle hearing something like that, and that pissed me off. We shouldn't have any secrets in our relationship.

His hands grasped my upper arms again. "What can I do to fix this?" he asked frantically.

I brought my hands up and cupped his face in them. I could tell that he wanted to close his eyes and lean into my touch, but he refused to break my gaze.

"Trust me, Eric. You can trust me. I'm not so breakable anymore. You can tell me when things like that happen," I said.

His eyes softened, and I ran my hands down his chest and grasped the hem of his sweater. He helped me get it off of him and then tossed it onto the bathroom floor. We both undressed him, and as soon as he was naked he closed the shower curtain.

I looked him in the eyes again and said, "Can you trust me?"

He looked relieved and nodded. "Yes, I can."

We took a shower together, took care of each other. When we got out I wrung out Eric's clothes as best I could and tossed them and his shoes into the dryer while he toweled down the bathroom floor. We went to my room where I put on some pajamas and Eric stayed naked, before crawling under the covers of my bed. We lay on our sides facing each other while Eric ran his fingers through my wet hair.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I have to know that you'll forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. It wasn't your fault."

"But…" he began, and I put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"No. I know you feel guilty for kissing her back, but I saw the whole thing. It wasn't even for a second, and I really can't blame you, nor do I want to. There's nothing to forgive."

"What about not telling you about the other time?" he asked.

"Well, that I forgive you for, but you have to promise to tell me things like that in the future."

"I promise," he said. "Are we okay?"

I nodded, "Yes, we are."

He smiled, and pulled me tightly to his body, my head on his chest.

"Right after it happened, when I saw you… I thought for sure I'd lost you," he said sadly. "I don't want to feel that way again."

"Can I ask you a question without freaking you out?" I asked as I sat up a bit to look at him.

"Yes," he answered warily.

"Where do you see this going?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"We both talk about not wanting to lose each other, and I don't want to lose you, but where do you really see this going? Are we just going to date in college and split after graduation? Do you want to continue this after that? Do you see us ever becoming more official in the long run? I'm not saying I want a promise ring or anything, don't get me wrong. I don't even want to think about marriage right now, but I do know it's something I want eventually. Get married, have kids…" I trailed off, certain I'd succeeded in freaking him out.

"I don't know," he said, and I'm not going to say I didn't feel a little disappointment.

"Oh."

"Well, of course I want to get married someday. I can't see myself with children right now, but I'm not exactly in the mindset to picture myself with them. I don't want to break up after college. I have enough money and with writing, I can go anywhere you go. What I'm trying to say is that I'm in this for the long haul, Sookie. When I say I don't want to lose you, I mean it."

I smiled and lay back down next to him. "I'm sorry I brought all that up. I just wanted to know if we were on the same page. I really don't want to think about the future too much, which is strange since we should be, but I just don't. I'm finally feeling whole again, and all I want to do is live."

"Then we'll live," he said.

* * *

**Okay, explanation time...**

**I have failed you guys. Hard. I was such a newbie when I started this story, and I really only had one major plot point in mind, and one endgame. When I passed the major plot point (Eric finally doing it) I was still able to lead the story a bit longer, but I sort of lost my way. Not really in plot, because I still firmly believe that everything that has happened needed to, but in the general tone and feel of the story. I just lost it. After a night where I went clinically insane and contemplated having Eric get hit by a car(totally true), I had an epiphany. **

**Basically, this story doesn't need, nor will it have anymore angst. :) This will probably be mostly fluff and smut from here on out. It will end eventually, and I do have an end goal to reach. I think I've been writing so much angst lately, that I wanted to write it in this too, so my brain blocked me, wisely, because it's not needed anymore. These two are all whole and shit now, and everything's good.**

**So, that said, HUGE Thank you to FNT, who was willing to support me with whatever I chose to do, and to Sunkisz, who desperately tried to beat some sense into me. I love you girls. **

**Another huge thank you to my beta, FDM, without whom I wouldn't be writing this story at all. I love you, woman! Oh... and... he got off *snicker***

**So, coming up... what can they do with those handcuffs? *giggles***


	29. Handcuffs

**Chapter 29 - Handcuffs**

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" I asked Eric for the fifth time.

"Sookie, I promise you I'm okay with this," he reassured me. "Now cuff me."

I blushed and giggled, and gave him a kiss before getting up to retrieve the two pairs of handcuffs from my bag. I twirled them on my finger as I walked back to him, and his mouth curved up in a grin. He sat on the edge of the bed so I could pull his shirt off, and then he lay down in the middle of the bed.

"Are you comfortable?" I asked.

"Yes," he said as he put his wrists into position for me next to the right slats in the headboard. I crawled up and wrapped some socks around his wrists before securing the cuffs.

"Why are you padding them?" he asked. "I'm not a chick, I can handle it."

I straddled his waist and leaned down to kiss him before sitting up and explaining.

"I padded them because with what I'm going to do, I'm sure you'll be pulling at them in no time, and this isn't going to be fast and frenzied by any means. I wouldn't want to harm those wrists of yours."

He noticeably swallowed and I laughed. The black scarf I had set on the bed caught my attention, and I picked it up.

"You're really going to blindfold me?" he asked.

We'd talked about that, and he wasn't completely sure he wanted to, but I assured him that it was supposed to heighten his other senses.

"Only if you're okay with it. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

He contemplated it for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"Okay, do it, but if I say I want it off…"

"I'll take it off right away," I promised.

He nodded, and I gave him a warm smile and a kiss before covering his eyes with the scarf and tying it behind his head.

"I'm going to change, and I'll be right back," I told him as I got off the bed.

"Why are you changing if I can't see you?" he asked.

"Because eventually that scarf will come off," I teased before walking to the bathroom with my bag.

Quickly, I changed into the lingerie that Amelia and I picked out. It was a black lace bra and underwear set, but my favorite part was the garter belt and stockings. I thought about wearing heels with it, but I didn't think Eric would be paying that much attention to my feet, and I wanted to be comfortable.

After touching up my hair and giving myself a once over, I went back to the bedroom.

"I can hear you better," Eric said.

"That's supposed to happen, now hush, I'm going to tease you now," I giggled.

"Tease away, I can take it," he said with a smirk, and I immediately decided to make him beg before he got anything.

I climbed up on the bed and straddled his hips, before leaning down to kiss him. He kissed me back eagerly, with as much power as he could. Before he could deepen the kiss, however, I left his mouth and trailed my lips down to his neck, where I took my time sucking and nipping at his skin. As my lips worked on his neck, I slowly rotated my hips on his growing erection until he began moving against me. As soon as he did, I broke contact with him, causing him to groan.

I chuckled to myself and moved my lips further down, licking my way to his nipples. I took my sweet time on each one using lips, tongue, and teeth until he was moaning and trying to grind himself against me.

"Ah, ah, ah," I said as I brought myself up off of him again. His nostrils flared, and I could tell he was starting to get frustrated, but was unwilling to beg yet.

I moved even further down his body and dipped my fingers into the waistband of his boxers.

"Lift your hips," I said, and he instantly complied. I pulled the boxers down and off his legs, revealing his erection. For a second I almost felt badly for teasing him, but then I remembered his words. He thought he could take it. I'd show him how wrong he was.

Spreading his legs with my hands, I climbed back onto the bed in between them, kissing my way up to his knees, nipping at his thighs and the sensitive skin of his v-line. My fingers brushed against the base of his erection, causing him to buck his hips a little. He was breathing a bit heavier, so I took mercy on him and licked him from base to tip.

The sound that came from his mouth was so hot, I felt myself become wet. I wanted to hear more of that, so I grasped him with my hand, took the head into my mouth, and sucked gently.

"Oh Jesus!" he cried out.

To reward him for being so vocal, I took his entire length in quickly, and then released him. _That_ certainly got a rise out of him, and made him pull on the cuffs. I climbed up his body again and kissed his neck a little before whispering in his ear.

"I'll bet you're glad I padded those cuffs now, aren't you?"

He growled in my ear, and then gritted his teeth. "I can take it," he said.

"I'll take that as a challenge," I said, and quickly removed his blindfold.

I watched his eyes adjust to the light, and then he took in my body, and I swear the clear blue color of his eyes darkened a little.

Yup, garters were definitely his thing.

Men were nothing if not visual creatures, and I knew it would help me greatly if he could see some of the things I was going to do to him. Things he had no control over.

"Sookie, you look…" he paused, as though he was trying to find the right words, "fucking hot."

I giggled. "Thank you."

I got off the bed again, which elicited a groan from Eric. I stood next to the bed and hooked my thumbs into my lacy panties, running them along the waistband a couple times.

"Do you want me to take these off?" I asked seductively.

He nodded vigorously, so I slowly pulled them down and stepped out of them before tossing them over my shoulder. His eyes raked over my body and he licked his lips, which gave me an idea.

"Do you want to taste me, Eric?" I asked.

"Yes," he answered huskily, and I almost shivered in anticipation.

I climbed back onto the bed and kissed him before straddling his face. Almost as soon as he could reach me with his tongue, he was licking me and groaning into me. I stayed quiet as long as I could, but as his mouth expertly worked my clit, I found I couldn't hold back.

"Make me come, Eric," I demanded, and he immediately increased his pressure, sending me over the edge and into one of the best orgasms I'd ever had.

After my wits came back, I removed myself from his mouth, which he was still using to gently lap at me. Straddling his hips again, I leaned down and kissed him, tasting myself on his lips and in his mouth.

"Mmm," I moaned into his ear. "I taste really good on you."

"Sookie," he began, and I was sure he was about to beg, but he seemed to catch himself and stopped talking.

"What do you want, Eric?" I asked. I moved down his body a bit more and raised myself as I grasped his erection with my hand, placing the tip at my entrance. "Is this what you want?" I asked, and then lowered myself until just the head was inside me. I fought the urge to moan at the feel of him, at the look on his face.

He still wouldn't ask for it, so I lowered myself until he was halfway in.

"Is this what you want?" I asked again, but he still didn't answer, so I moved my hips higher, taking myself off of him.

"Wait!" he cried out, and I stilled, arching an eyebrow at him. "I want this," he said, and I could tell he was still unwilling to beg. That was okay though, I had another trick up my sleeve.

"Be still," I said, and then slowly lowered myself onto him.

He let out a guttural groan when I took him all the way in. I didn't move, and fought the urge to moan or move my hips. Instead, I focused on the feel of him inside me, filling me completely.

"Don't move," I demanded when he tried to move his hips. "I just want to feel you," I said, and after a few seconds I clenched my inner muscles around him.

"Fuck, Sookie," he groaned out.

I slowly began rotating my hips, enjoying the sensations the motions gave me, as well as the way it increased his breathing. As slowly as I could I rose up just a little, and then sat back down. Eric moaned loudly, and I could tell he was desperately trying not to move his hips.

"I want to touch you so bad," he said as he pulled on the cuffs again.

"You know what you have to say," I said, and raised myself higher before sitting down harder than before.

He made another noise in ecstasy and threw his head back on the pillows.

"Just say it, Eric," I said as I continued to slowly fuck him. "Say it, and I'll remove the cuffs."

He was still holding back as I continued, but he was definitely fraying at the edges and I had one more idea. I waited until I could tell that he was lost in pleasure, and then I raised myself until he was only halfway in and stopped moving.

His eyes shot open, and he instinctively tried to thrust back into me. As soon as he did, I raised myself more until just the tip was in. He must have been desperate, because he tried again, so I removed myself completely.

"Fuck!" he yelled. "Please, Sookie. Please."

Success! He was begging. It was such a powerful feeling, and I was almost scared of how much I loved it. I leaned down and kissed him hard, before grabbing the keys from the nightstand and unlocking the cuffs. As soon as both of his hands were free I found myself on my back, and then his mouth was on mine, kissing me, claiming me, thanking me. With pure heat and lust in his eyes, he grasped my outer thighs and hitched them up around his back.

"Wrap your legs around my back," he said heatedly, and I did. At the same time, he entered me again with another loud groan.

He pressed his forehead against mine as he began thrusting into me, deep into me. I don't think he'd ever been that far in, and we were both enjoying the effects. I wanted to tell him how good it felt, to tell him to go faster, but I couldn't. We were both beyond words at that point. We were reduced to animalistic grunts and groans, and the only thing I could focus on was the feel of him on top of me, inside me, around me. All it took was a few more thrusts and a brush on his groin against my clit, and I came, screaming out in pleasure as I convulsed in his arms. He followed right after with a ragged groan, as I felt the warmth of his release deep inside me.

When his hips stopped moving I unhooked my ankles and let my legs fall to the bed limply. Eric waited until our breathing was somewhat back to normal before he pulled out and lay next to me.

"Well," he said. "I think it's official - your fantasy is definitely hotter than mine."

I laughed and rolled into his side, burying my face in his chest.

"I feel so embarrassed now," I said as I replayed everything in my mind.

"Don't be. You were amazing. I don't think I've ever been so turned on in my life."

"Really?" I asked as I looked up at him. "It wasn't too… I don't know… kinky?"

"That was kinky for us, but it wasn't really kinky… does that make sense?" he laughed.

"Yes. So you liked it? I didn't take it too far?" I asked. All my insecurities were flooding back to me.

"Sookie, you can bring those handcuffs out again in the future, I promise. That's how much I liked it," he said while looking me in the eyes.

I blushed and hid my face in his chest again, while he chuckled and ran his fingers through my hair. He pulled away from me so that I was on my back again, and then he rolled on top of me.

"I love you so much," he said. "Thank you for trusting me enough to do this."

"I should be thanking you for your trust, you were the one in cuffs," I said, and he smiled.

"Come on," he said, sliding off the bed, and pulling me with him.

"Where are we going? My legs are sore," I whined in what I hoped was a cute way.

"We're going to the bathroom where we will take a nice, long, hot soaking bath," he said enticingly. Ooh, I liked the sound of that.

"Any chance we can light some candles in there?" I asked as I followed him.

"I think we can manage that," he said.

When we got to the bathroom Eric turned on the water to fill the tub, and then stripped me of the rest of my lingerie. He looked at each piece of it like he was saying goodbye to his childhood puppy.

"I'll wear it again for you sometime," I said, and he perked up.

"You looked amazing in it," he said, and then kissed me.

The tub was full by then so I put my hair up and got in while Eric went to search for candles. He came back in just a few minutes with an armful and a lighter, and set them up on the edge of the tub and the sink before joining me in the water.

I leaned back into his body and relaxed. I loved that I could be like this with him. Amelia said she had issues getting Trey to be romantic with her like this now.

"Eric?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for being you," I said, and felt him smile against my neck.

"You're welcome, Sookie."

* * *

**Yeah... that was... fun to write. *giggles* **

**I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been plowing right through my Graveyard of Good Intentions expansion, and am proud to say that it is now complete! It will be 12 chapters and an epilogue, and I will update as I get them back from my amazing beta :-) For now, I'm going to try to finish out What Dreams May Come because I only have 3 chapters left to write! Then I will get busy on Never Say Never, I promise. I just have to be in the right state of mind to work on that story. **

**Okay, the lovely, talented S Meadows made me a Studybuddies banner!! The link is in my profile, but if you don't mind removing spaces, I'll post here too: **

http://img23 . imageshack . us/img23/3210/studybuddies2 . jpg

**One last thing... The finalists for the Naughty or Nice contest have been announced and my entry, The Ribbon, is one of them! Please go read all the finalists and vote for your favorite. They are all amazing stories, and I am in such good company!**

http://www . fanfiction . net/u/2163083/Naughty_or_Nice_List#


	30. The Future SB Outtake

**A/N: **This was originally written as a birthday present for my beta, and it was published in a big compilation for her, so some of you may have seen it, but I'm sure many have not. I intended to publish this as a bonus with the next chapter, but then I realized that I could post it now as a promotion for the Support Stacie Auction which is going on right now!

This is set in the future of Studybuddies. Eric and Sookie are a few years older, and living together. Enjoy and I'll see you at the bottom!

----

I was grocery shopping after work when I passed a magazine rack. The latest Cosmo magazine had a byline about spicing up your sex life. I laughed. I was sure that whatever they had in that article was nothing compared to whatever Eric had been reading.

As a writer, he was always reading something, but the last few days he had been spending a lot of time on his laptop, and after he logged off he would immediately jump me. Every. Single. Time. He was always already extremely ready, and very enthusiastic. I didn't think he was watching porn, because when I asked what made him so insatiable, he just said he was reading something interesting.

The first night he jumped me, and after a round of amazing, heated sex, asked if I would do something for him… a fantasy, if you will. He wanted to sit in his desk chair while I deep throated him. I was game, especially after the incredible orgasms he had just given me. The next time he jumped me, he just wanted to finger me on the couch. He got a little dominant, and it was so hot that I attacked him after he made me come.

He'd also gotten into the habit of quoting Robert Herrick to me. I have to admit, I had a new appreciation for the poet's work.

Every time he took me, I asked Eric to show me what he was reading, but he said he wasn't finished yet. I didn't put too much thought into it because I was definitely getting something out of whatever it was. Our sex life had always been amazing, and Eric had always been the perfect lover, which was astounding since I had been his first back when we were in college. After we graduated and had moved in together, things had become a bit of a routine. Not boring by any means, and he could still surprise me, but we'd lost just a little of the spice that made us… well… us.

I had a smile on my face through the rest of my shopping. The night before, Eric said he was almost done with whatever he was looking at, so I knew I would probably be getting attacked when I got home. The thought made me go a little faster.

While standing in the checkout line, my phone buzzed, alerting me to a text message.

**Just finished it… how soon can you be home?**

I swear my panties dampened then and there. I typed out a reply quickly while the cashier was ringing up the items.

_**Checking out now. I'll be there asap. Stay ready for me.**_

I couldn't help but smile as I thought of what he had in store for me when I got home. My phone buzzed again. I opened it, gasped, and quickly tried to cover it with a cough. There on the screen was a picture of Eric's extremely erect penis, and I knew that whatever he had been reading had to have been good. With the picture was the text:

**Now you know what will be waiting for you… hurry.**

I tried to steady my breathing as I typed out my reply.

_**I'm about to abandon the groceries in favor of something else I'd like to wrap my lips around.**_

After I sent that I thought of something else.

**_I'm so wet right now, and I can't wait to feel your mouth on me._**

By that time, the cashier was done ringing up all the groceries, and was looking at me funny. I quickly paid for them, and walked quickly to the car, practically throwing the groceries in the trunk. I looked at my phone once more before heading back. There was another text.

**I can't wait to feel your mouth on me as mine is on you. I can't wait to taste you.**

I groaned, because I was pretty sure he was suggesting a position we'd never actually done before. I replied for the last time.

_**I'm on my way.**_

I probably broke a few laws trying to get home as quickly as I could, and I didn't even bother to bring the groceries in. I simply parked in the garage and ran into the house. I wasn't three feet in the door before I made contact with him.

Eric was completely naked as he swiftly picked me up and slammed me against the nearest wall. His lips and hands were everywhere, and before I knew what was happening, I heard a few rips and the sound of buttons hitting the floor. The motherfucker had just ripped my clothes off… and I liked it. Fuck me, I _loved_ it. I aided him in pulling them completely off, and then wrapped my legs around him tighter.

"Bedroom. Now," I growled in his ear, and he quickly obliged.

As soon as we fell on the bed there was another rip, and I knew I could kiss those panties goodbye. He kissed his way down my body, but before he tasted me he looked up my body and gave me a smirk. I smirked back as we positioned ourselves on our sides until his straining erection was directly in front of my mouth, and my center was in front of his. He didn't waste any more time, and neither did I.

Our mouths and hands worked each other's most sensitive areas, and I knew this was going to be fast, frenzied, and completely explosive. I was right. Within minutes I was contracting around his fingers and tongue and as I did, I relaxed my throat and took him all the way in. As I moaned around his length, he released down my throat with a yell. I swallowed all he had and slowly released him from my mouth before collapsing on my back.

Neither one of us could talk for a couple of minutes, but eventually Eric righted himself and pulled me against him.

"I love you so fucking much," he said, and I laughed.

"Pony up, big boy. It's time to tell me what the hell you've been reading to get you this way," I said.

He smirked a bit and then explained, "I was looking up some seventeenth century poets for this project I'm helping with, and remembered a line from a Herrick poem. I googled the line, and the first link was to a fan fiction story called House of Flesh on Fire. Purely out of curiosity, I clicked it. The link was for chapter eleven, and in it was a very sexual scene involving a blowjob under a desk. I was incredibly turned on and attacked you right after I read it. I told myself I wouldn't read any more, but I was intrigued, so I went back and have been reading the whole thing. The story is actually very good, and it's extremely erotic."

"So… you're telling me that fan fiction is what has gotten you so exuberant about sex?"

"Oh yes, I actually think you should read it. I kind of want to see what your reactions would be. What did you think I was looking at?"

"Well… I thought it might have been porn at first, but I knew you weren't watching anything, just reading, so I really didn't have a clue," I said. "Tell me, how long is this story?"

"It's up to twenty-five chapters… and she's not done yet," he said lustily. "You want to know the best part?"

"What?"

"The characters haven't even had sex yet."

"What?! They haven't actually done it, and it's inspired those reactions from you?" I started to get up. "Do you have it favorited? I want to read…"

Eric grabbed my arm and pulled me back down to the bed. "Oh no you don't, I'm not done with you here yet."

"But…" I began to protest and his mouth covered mine as his want pressed into my thigh.

"No," he breathed. "You can start reading it tomorrow, but if she updates, you have to get off the computer."

"Eric," I complained, but he pressed against me a little harder and kissed my neck.

"Eric," I moaned that time, forgetting about the aphrodisiac of a story for the moment, and focusing on the horny man on top of me. I could thank the author later…

----

**A/N: **

Okay, if you want to make Nerdstud do anything you want, and that includes things in the future, or even the past, then go bid on him in the Support Stacie Auction!

http://www[dot]supportstacie[dot]com/phpBB3/viewforum[dot]php?f=24

Yes, this was written before the Professor and Sookie had done it in HOFOF. I should have shared this with you all a long time ago :) Also, the next chapter is with my beta, and for your patience, here is a little tease:

"You know what I could deal with right now?" she asked.

"If you say another orgasm then I'm buying you a vibrator."

A myriad of giggles erupted from her, and she rolled on top of me.

"I was going to say shower, and you don't have to worry about buying me a vibrator. I already have one."

"What?!" I asked in shock while she laughed as she walked into the bathroom.

I jumped up and followed her.

"Please tell me you're joking," I said.

She pulled back the shower curtain and turned on the water to let it warm up, and then turned to me.

"I'm serious. Amelia bought it as a joke back in high school, but I've never gotten rid of it."

"So you haven't used it then," I said in relief.

"Oh I've used it," she said with a smile, and then turned on the spray before pulling me into the stall.

"Do you still use it? Even now that you have me? I mean, have you used it since we've been together?" I couldn't stop asking questions.

"I've used it since we've been together," she grinned, lathering up her hands with the soap and running them over my chest.

I placed my hands on her forearms and willed her to look at me.

"Please just tell me that it's not one of those that vibrates and spins and does all that funky shit, because I just can't compete with that."

She stared at me for a few seconds, and then burst into laughter.

"It's not funny, Sookie. Seriously, a man can't do the same things as a machine!"

She wrapped her hands around my neck and pulled me down for a kiss.

"It's okay. I haven't had to use it since we started having sex. You keep me more than satisfied. And just so you know, it's not anything fancy. Just a small bullet-shaped thing that vibrates."

I'll admit that I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Also, while some vibrators can do all that fancy stuff, nothing can compare to a man that knows what he's doing. A vibrator can't kiss you, pay attention to your breasts, and thrust at the same time."

"Damn straight it can't."


	31. Lessons in Romance

**Chapter 30 – Lessons In Romance**

"Eric, get your whipped ass out here!" I heard Tray yell one afternoon as he entered the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him.

"What the hell, man?" I asked, walking into the living room where he was sitting on the couch.

"You know where I was just now?" he asked.

"With Amelia?" I asked. Where else would he be?

"Yes. And do you want to know what happened?"

"Tray, I've told you before that I don't want to hear about your sex life," I said, and started to leave the room.

"Lucky for you I don't have one anymore," he said angrily, so I stopped and faced him again.

"What are you talking about?"

"Amelia cut me off," he said.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. It's your fault!" he said, and stood up.

"How is it _my _fault?" I asked incredulously.

"Because you have to go and be all "perfect" and "romantic" with Sookie," he said, even using air quotes and a girly voice, obviously quoting bits of Amelia's argument. "You set up a bath with rose petals and candles without pushing for anything in return, then she goes and blabs to Amelia about it, and then Amelia starts complaining that I'm not romantic enough."

I just stood there, dumbfounded, while he continued.

"So I try to be more romantic, and offered to fill the bathtub for her so she could relax. I thought it would work, but then she got pissed because instead of talking to her or washing her hair or some gay shit, I sat on the floor and looked at my Playboy until she was done."

I had to snicker at that. He was clueless.

"It's _not _funny, man! I haven't gotten laid in a week, and now she's officially cut me off until I can be more like you."

He threw his hands in the air and plopped back down on the couch. I wasn't sure what I could say, so I focused on not laughing.

Tray fixed me with a steady look and said, "You know you have to fix this, right? It's your fault anyway, and you're the smart one."

"How am I supposed to fix this?"

"Tell me what to do. Teach me how to be romantic. Please, Eric. I can already feel the blue balls starting," he begged.

I took a deep breath and crossed my arms.

"Why don't we have some supper and talk about this?"

He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest as well. "I don't want any of your healthy shit. I'm not in the mood."

"I have a frozen pizza that we can heat up," I said enticingly. "It's one of those really fancy ones with all the toppings and the really thick crust. How does that sound?"

Slowly, the corners of his mouth twitched up, and he finally smiled.

"That sounds good."

"Okay, why don't you start up FIFA, and I'll go put it in the oven."

We played the video game until the pizza got done, and I used the time to figure out how in the hell I was going to teach Tray to be more romantic. It wasn't like I set out to be like that, it was simply how I was. But, when the timer went off, I was pretty sure I had figured out how to approach the situation.

"So, what usually happens with you and Amelia? And please spare me the more intimate details."

"Well," he said, and then took a huge bite of his pizza and chewed loudly while thinking it over. "We usually just tear each other's clothes off and go at it."

"You never take it slow?"

"Not really. Not often, at least."

"What about after?"

"We fall asleep?"

"You never talk or cuddle or anything like that?"

"No, that's gay."

I shook my head. "You have a lot to learn."

"Then explain this shit to me," he said, setting down his piece of pizza. I knew then just how seriously he would take it. Tray always chose frozen pizza over serious conversation.

"Okay, but you'll have to trust me," I said.

"I will."

"Alright then. Being romantic means forgetting about yourself and your own needs for a while. You have to remember that the rewards will come later. Make it about her. You want to relax her and make her happy. Be selfless."

"I filled the bathtub. That was a good right?" he asked.

"Yes, it was, but it's also about atmosphere. You have to set the mood with things like candles and rose petals. Just a few candles on the sink with the light off will do that. Then you have to sit and talk to her. Ask her about her day while you wash her hair. It may seem "gay" to you, but women are all about intimacy, and she'll love it."

"I don't know about washing her hair."

"Trust me, she'll love it. You have to go slow, and be gentle with her. Never let on that you expect any kind of sex in return. You have to make her think that you would be content to hold her all night."

"She knows I wouldn't be though."

"I'm sure you wouldn't."

"You telling me you would?" he asked.

"I have," I said.

He rolled his eyes, so I continued.

"Whether you would actually do it or not doesn't matter, though I do believe you are capable of it."

He ignored that comment.

"So what comes after the bath?" he asked.

"Take her to the bedroom, where you will need to light more candles, and give her a massage."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. You can lay a towel out on the bed, and use her lotion. Make sure you warm it in your hands before starting, and give her a slow massage. The key is to stay away from anywhere sexual."

"Dude, this is going to kill me!"

"It's all about anticipation. From there you should be good. Just remember to take it slow, and let her make the first move," I said, and picked up my pizza again.

"Why can't I just buy her a thing of roses and some chocolate, and take her out for burgers and a movie?"

I stared at him. Was that truly his idea of romance?

"Tray," I said as evenly and seriously as I could. "If you ever want to get laid again, you will do what I told you."

"Alright," he said in defeat after a long moment, and then picked up his pizza.

Tray decided to put his new romantic plan into motion the next night since Amelia didn't have to work. I gave him the apartment and showed him where all the candles were before leaving with strict instructions for him not to burn the building down.

I met up with Sookie at the restaurant where she was finishing up her morning shift.

"Hey sweetie," she said as she gave me a peck on the cheek. "I've just got one more table that I'm waiting on to leave and then we can go. You want a drink while you wait?"

"Sure, I'll take some tea," I told her with a smile.

I only had to wait about ten minutes before she was ready to go, but in that time I decided I would bring up the stuff with Amelia and Tray to her. I was very interested in what she thought of the whole thing. When we left I got my opportunity to ask her.

"So," I began while taking her hand as we walked.

"So…"

"I want to know what you think of Amelia cutting Tray off."

"He told you about that?!"

"Of course he did, he blames me," I laughed. "He said that it's my fault because I'm so romantic with you, and then you tell Amelia and now she expects it from him."

"Oh my goodness! What are you supposed to do about it?"

"He wanted me to tell him how to be more romantic."

"He did? Oh, see now that's sweet," she said with a small smile.

"So you agree with Amelia doing this?" I pressed.

"Oh heck no. I think it's ridiculous. Tray can be romantic; he just does it in his own way. She never had any problems with his _romance_ before you came along," she said, and I felt nothing but relief.

"I'm so happy you said that. If she tries to change him too much he's going to start to think she doesn't want _him_ anymore."

"Why don't they just listen to us?" she asked.

"No idea."

We walked in a happy silence for a while, and then my curiosity got the better of me.

"There's not anything you want me to be more of, is there?" I asked, and she shot me a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"Like Amelia wants Tray to be more romantic."

"I can honestly say there's nothing. You're romantic and considerate by nature, so I don't have to worry about that. Then there's times when your inner caveman comes out and you become so dominant, and it's just…" she trailed off.

"Go on…" I urged.

"It's very good."

"Just good?"

"Oh come on. You know what I mean. It's like you want to possess me, like you want to prove that you are the best I've ever had, and will always be the one I crave. It's amazing. You've worked out this perfect balance of romantic and possessive, so you're never too much of one or the other."

"Good to know," I grinned.

She laughed and nudged my side, and by that time we were at her apartment. I was staying the night because the two romance birds had my apartment. Luckily, I had begun to leave a few changes of clothes and a toothbrush at her place, just as she'd done at mine. We'd each cleared out drawers for each other.

"We have the place to ourselves," Sookie observed after we shut the door, kicking her shoes off.

"Indeed, we do," I agreed as I did the same.

"What could we possibly do?"

"Considering how romantic I've been lately, I think it's time for the possessive side to come out," I said as I walked towards her while she backed slowly down the hall.

A mischievous smile formed on her face, and she quickly turned and ran to her bedroom. I ran after her and managed to catch her by tackling her on the bed. We both laughed for a few seconds as I tickled her sides, and in no time she was crying mercy.

"Who do you belong to?" I asked. We had just recently started this kind of play, and I was surprised by how erotic it was.

"You," she said, and I roughly captured her lips with mine. I poured all of my need for her in the kiss, and she did the same. Her fingers threaded into my hair and pressed me closer to her, as her legs wrapped around my waist and she bucked her hips against my growing erection.

I pulled away and quickly ripped my sweater off while she got rid of her shirt and bra. My hands immediately went to the button of her pants and a few seconds later she was naked and panting below me. She made quick work of my belt buckle and button, and then her small hands were pushing the material over my hips and down to my knees. I took over and kicked them all the way off.

I kissed my way back up her body, only stopping to make sure she was ready, and to pay some attention to her beautiful breasts.

"And who do you belong to?" she asked when I settled on top of her again. Her breathing was already coming in short pants.

"You," I said, and with one swift thrust I was buried inside her.

She let out a high-pitched noise as I did, and immediately began grinding her hips against mine.

"Do you like the way I feel inside you?" I asked in her ear.

"Yes," she breathed, her fingers digging into my shoulders. Sookie kept her nails clipped now for this reason. I enjoyed the occasional back scratches, but it had been happening too often.

"What do you want, Sookie?" I asked as I pulled almost all the way out. She made a hoarse noise and tried to move her hips, but I stilled her with one of my hands. "Tell me."

"You. All of you," she said urgently.

That was all I needed to hear. I thrust hard and deep, and then we became nothing but a mass of hot, sweaty limbs. The only things I could hear were the grunts and moans coming from her, and the sound of our bodies coming together again and again. We rolled around on the bed, only briefly stopping when we needed to change position. I had her bent over the bed when the finale came for both of us. It was explosive, and so, so good.

We both slowly climbed back onto the bed and tried to catch our breath.

"I am so ruined," Sookie panted out.

"You? _I'm _ruined," I said, and I meant it.

"Then I guess we'll just have to put up with each other forever," she said with a laugh.

"I could deal with that," I said.

"You know what I could deal with right now?" she asked.

"If you say another orgasm then I'm buying you a vibrator."

A myriad of giggles erupted from her, and she rolled on top of me.

"I was going to say shower, and you don't have to worry about buying me a vibrator. I already have one."

"What?!" I asked in shock while she laughed as she walked into the bathroom.

I jumped up and followed her.

"Please tell me you're joking," I said.

She pulled back the shower curtain and turned on the water to let it warm up, and then turned to me.

"I'm serious. Amelia bought it as a joke back in high school, but I've never gotten rid of it."

"So you haven't used it then," I said in relief.

"Oh I've used it," she said with a smile, and then turned on the spray before pulling me into the stall.

"Do you still use it? Even now that you have me? I mean, have you used it since we've been together?" I couldn't stop asking questions.

"I've used it since we've been together," she grinned, lathering up her hands with the soap and running them over my chest.

I placed my hands on her forearms and willed her to look at me.

"Please just tell me that it's not one of those that vibrates and spins and does all that funky shit, because I just can't compete with that."

She stared at me for a few seconds, and then burst into laughter.

"It's not funny, Sookie. Seriously, a man can't do the same things as a machine!"

She wrapped her hands around my neck and pulled me down for a kiss.

"It's okay. I haven't had to use it since we started having sex. You keep me more than satisfied. And just so you know, it's not anything fancy. Just a small bullet."

I'll admit that I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Also, while some vibrators can do all that fancy stuff, nothing can compare to a man that knows what he's doing. A vibrator can't kiss you, pay attention to your breasts, and thrust at the same time."

"Damn straight it can't," I said, and then an image popped into my head and I grinned. "How would you feel about pulling that thing out while we're together?"

Her jaw dropped open slightly, and then she was grinning too.

SPOV

I had entirely too much fun teasing Eric about vibrators. It always amused me how much guys seemed to hate them. It was only fair though, since he brought it up first, and in the end he seemed to do a complete turnaround and became really interested in the idea of seeing me use it.

After our shower, we made some supper and watched a couple of movies before heading for bed. Nights like that always made me think of what it would be like when we moved in together. We hadn't officially talked about it, but we both knew it would happen, most likely after college, but it was inevitable.

The next morning we were still alone in the apartment, so we assumed that things had gone well with Amelia and Tray. I didn't have to work, and Eric no longer worked at the library, so he cooked me breakfast and we watched some cartoons while we ate.

"How do you think it went?" I asked Eric while we waited for Dexter's Laboratory to come on.

"If he listened to me, then it went well," he answered confidently.

"What exactly did you tell him?"

I didn't get an answer, because at that moment the front door unlocked, and in came Amelia and Tray. Their hands were all over each other, and they were looking all gooey-eyed. It was kind of sickening. Tray gave Amelia a long kiss, and then they whispered things at each other before finally pulling away.

"You up for hitting the gym, Eric?" Tray asked.

"Uh… sure, just let me change clothes, and I need to get my bag from the apartment," Eric answered.

"I'll run over and get it," Tray said, and with one last kiss for Amelia, he left.

Eric got up and went to the bedroom to throw some clothes on. Amelia sat quietly on the couch with a smile, obviously waiting for Eric to leave so we could talk. He came out and gave me a kiss and a smile, and then he left.

I turned to Amelia on the couch and said, "Spill."

"Spill what?" she asked.

I smacked her with a throw pillow.

"Come on! How did the romance go?"

She giggled and hit me back, and then she got a pensive look on her face.

"I didn't like it," she said.

Well, knock me over with a feather.

"Seriously? But you two were being all lovey-dovey a minute ago."

"Well, it took me a bit, but I realized how wrong I was in this whole situation. He was perfect last night."

"Then how did you come to the conclusion that you were wrong?" I asked. It was like pulling teeth to get Amelia to admit she was wrong, so I was very intrigued.

"I'll get there," she said. "When we met up he had a bouquet of flowers for me and he was dressed up. We both know he can't cook, so he took me out to a nice restaurant. It was nice, but I felt out of place because I know he's not comfortable in places like that. Then we went back to the apartment, and he made me wait in the living room while he went into the bathroom to fill up the bathtub and light some candles."

"Isn't it wonderful?"

"It was very wonderful, but again, it felt off somehow. At first I thought it was because he was sitting there fully clothed while I was bathing, so I made him get in the tub with me. He asked me about my week and washed my hair. We talked about school starting back up soon. It was nice, but…"

"Off?"

"Yes. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Next, he took me to his bedroom, lit some more candles, and then he gave me a massage."

"Did that feel off too?"

"It did. I had to stop him, and that was when it hit me. He was trying so hard to make me happy, but I was already happy. I got so caught up in how romantic your love life is that it was all I could see. I wanted Tray to be like that, but what I've come to realize is that Tray will never be like that. He never has been. Tray's idea of romance is cheeseburgers and a movie of my choice, and I actually like that. _I am_ a cheeseburgers and movie kind of girl."

I smiled at her, feeling very pleased that she understood.

"I was trying to make him be something he's not, and it turns out I didn't even care for what I was trying to make him do."

"Amelia, I am so, so proud of you," I said, and then launched myself at her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders for a tight hug. "I was hoping you would realize all that before I had to beat it into you."

She laughed and hugged me back.

"Doesn't it get old though?" she asked.

"The romance?"

She nodded.

"No, because he's not like that all the time. You know about the handcuffs." I blushed at the memory. Those handcuffs had already gotten a couple of uses. "Eric can be very aggressive, it's just that the romantic side of him is more prevalent."

"You really hit the jackpot with him, you know that?"

I laughed and nodded. "I really did."

* * *

**A/N:**

Hey ladies! I'm so sorry about the time between updates for this story, but it'll probably be that way for a while yet. My two other ongoing stories are angsty, so I'll mostly be using this as a buffer when I need to write fluff. I hope you'll still stick around for some fun, smutty fluff!

Huge thanks to FDM for her amazing beta skills! She always points out the facts of life and human behavior to me :)

*puts on pimp hat*

_New SVM/TB contest, the DEAD PAN CONTEST is going on right now. It features parodies of our our favofrite Viking & barmaid, culled from books, TV, films, cartoons or even fairytales. If you've never written before, this is a great (and fun!) way to get your feet wet._

Details here: **http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/~deadpancontest**

The current entries need your review love! If you're looking for something good to read, please head over there now:

**http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/community/Dead_Pan_Contest/78556/99/0/1/**


	32. Slapchop and Muscles

**A/N:**

***IMPORTANT INFO***

**I can't stress enough how important it is to read author's notes. Lately I've seen a lot of instances, for myself and others, of readers asking questions when the answer was in an author's note. Yeah, sometimes is just us patting someone on the back or thanking our betas, but there's usually some good info in these things. **

**This is what you need to know for this chapter. This chapter takes place two years in the future. When we last saw our awesome Nerdstud, it was the summer after their Freshmen year of college. This takes place in the summer after their Junior year. I'll probably be wrapping up this story with a few more chapters, but I need to give it a re-read to make sure everything is tied up. Eventually I'd like to go back and re-do this story so it doesn't get so fail about 3/4 of the way through. **

**Refresher: The last major event in their lives was when Selah kissed Eric at work and Sookie saw it. She wasn't mad at him for the kiss, but that he didn't tell her it had happened before. After promising to trust each other, they were solid again. A couple chapters of smutty fun followed, and that's about it. **

**This is not only a new chapter, but it doubles as A_Redhead_Thing's Support Stacie fic. It came about after a conversation we had about the Slapchop, the Shamwow, and the general awesomeness of infomercials. Also, she likes a good bromance. I must say that this bromance isn't anywhere near as good as the one between Eric and Alcide in Terminal Attraction by Lubadub. But then, I see these two as more like the Odd Couple.  
**

**Lastly, this is not beta'd, so all mistakes are mine!  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 31 - Slapchop and Muscles  
**

I woke up in a cold sweat for the fourth time in a week. It was another night of absolutely no rest at all. Since my internal decision to ask my girlfriend a very important question I hadn't been sleeping well. A glance at the clock told me that it was four thirty in the morning, so I just went ahead and got up. I figured I could drag Tray to the gym as soon as it opened, and since it was a Saturday I'd get to take Sookie on a date later, which was something to look forward to.

As I threw on some sweats and a t-shirt, I heard noise coming from the living room, and a peek out my bedroom door revealed the glow from the TV. I rolled my eyes. Tray was watching infomercials again. He was a bit of an insomniac, and had this strange addiction to late-night infomercials. He was so into them, it would have been scary had it not been amusing.

After a trip to the bathroom I joined him on the couch. He greeted me with a grunt while holding up his fist for me to bump. I hit his fist with my own, and sat back on the couch. He was watching that Vince guy sell the Slapchop. Jesus that guy was annoying. Tray was completely immersed in it, and when Vince said the, "You're gonna love my nuts," line, Tray let out a childish giggle.

"You know there's a remix of this infomercial on youtube right?" I asked.

Tray whipped his head around. "No way! You have to show me!"

"Sure. You want to go work out when the gym opens?"

"Only if we can have pizza for breakfast," he said as he looked at the TV again, where the freshly slapchopped food was now sparkling like a Twilight vamp.

"Fine," I sighed. Tray had ruined my health-food diet over the last couple of years, but I'd managed to keep my physique simply because he liked to work out too. I got up and went into the kitchen to pre-heat the oven, and when I sat back down Tray jumped a bit.

"Whoa, where'd you go?" he asked.

"I masturbated," I deadpanned.

He laughed, probably because I used the word 'masturbated', but his laugh quickly trailed off.

"Wait… what?" he asked, leaning away from me.

"I turned on the oven, you idiot."

"Then why'd you say you masturbated? Oh, it was a joke. Sorry, too early. Wait, why are you up early again? You and Sookie having problems?"

"I'm just having a hard time sleeping lately," I said. I wasn't sure I wanted to tell anyone what I was planning.

"So you and Sook are still good?"

"Yeah, we're great," I smiled. We really were. Our third anniversary was coming up, and we always celebrated in the library on campus. It was a good reason to look forward to the semester starting.

I finally got to meet her Gran, who I loved, and I took Sookie to meet my parents. That wasn't as pleasant, but only because Sookie wasn't used to emotionally unavailable parents. I knew they loved me, and they raised me right, they just weren't as warm as Sookie's Gran.

"I'm going to ask Amelia to marry me," Tray said out of the blue, still staring at the TV.

"What? When?"

"Soon. I've been saving up my money, and I bought her a ring last week."

"Dude, why didn't you tell me? I would have helped you pick one out."

"You would have helped me?" he asked with a small smile. "That's sweet man." He put his hand on my knee, and rubbed it back and forth. I slapped it.

"Enough of your homoerotic bullshit," I said, and stood up.

"You like it," he said in his gay voice, and laughed.

"Do you still want pizza for breakfast?"

"Fine, I'll knock it off," he sighed dramatically, and fell back against the cushions.

A few hours later Tray and I left for the gym, and stopped at the girls' apartment to let them know where we'd be if they wanted to meet up for lunch later. I got a good morning kiss from Sookie then that calmed my nerves about what I had planned.

"You gonna tell me why you're so off?" Tray asked as we took a warm-up jog.

"Nope."

"Come on, man. We've lived together long enough that I can tell if something's wrong. You said it's not you and Sookie, and I believe you, so what is it?"

"I made a decision recently, and I'm nervous about Sookie's reaction, that's all," I said, hoping he'd drop it.

"Alright, I'll just say one thing. Sookie loves you."

"That's it? That's the one thing? I already knew that."

"Then there's no need to be nervous. She loves you, that's all you need to know."

"You need to let the wise out more often, Tray."

After our jog we did some weightlifting. Tray could lift about seventy pounds more than me, but he was built more like a football player, while I just liked to be lean and toned. In the middle of spotting Tray on a set of squats, Amelia and Sookie came in the front. I told Tray and helped him set the bar up, and we went up to bring them back with us.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Sookie while Tray picked Amelia up and carried her over to the lifting area.

"We were supposed to have lunch, and Amelia asked if I'd ever seen you work out. She said it's quite a turn on, so I agreed to come watch," she grinned.

"I'm glad you did," I said, wrapping my arms around her waist as I kissed her.

"Mmm, you're all sweaty."

"Sorry."

"No, I like it. It reminds me of other things we do that make you sweaty," she said seductively, and started towards the back.

If she kept that up I would be lifting with wood, and I wasn't sure how safe that was. Sookie and Amelia sat together on a vacant bench press and watched as Tray and I finished our workout. My last set was barbell curls, and as I did them Sookie's eyes went from watching the muscles in my arms flex, to watching the bar. And when the bar was in the down position her eyes stayed there, staring at the growing bulge in my shorts.

"Uh, Tray, I think Sookie and I are going to head home for lunch," I said as I set the bar down and removed the weights.

"Your set's not finished, man," he said.

"Don't care. Sook, I'll be right back," I told her and took off to the locker rooms, the sound of her giggling followed me. I'd never cleaned up faster after a workout, and in less than ten minutes I was grabbing Sookie and pulling her out the door.

"Tray, y'all best stick to our apartment this evening," Sookie hollered back to them, and then we were hightailing it to my place.

"I had no idea watching you work out would get me so hot," she said when I slammed her against the apartment door as soon as it shut.

"Watching you watch me did the same," I growled into her neck.

"Bedroom," she gasped. "I'll let you rip my clothes off."

That was all she needed to say. I had her in my room and on my bed in fifteen seconds, and in thirty her clothes were nothing but a pile of torn fabric on my floor. My clothes joined hers, and then we were rolling around on the bed together. Sookie kept running her hands along my arm muscles squeezing them when I flexed for her.

"I always knew I loved your muscles, but damn."

"I'll be sure to keep them so you can enjoy at your leisure," I said, and rotated my hips against her, causing her to let out a moan.

"Oh god, now. Please, now," she begged. I sat back, and she whimpered.

"Put a pillow under your head," I instructed. "I want to try something new. You'll get to watch my muscles, and I'll have a nice view too."

"You've been looking at that website again, haven't you?" she asked as she positioned herself on the pillow.

"Maybe," I grinned, and scooted forward on my knees. I picked up her legs under her thighs and lifted her up until she was at the right height.

"This looks fun," she giggled, which turned into a loud moan as I entered her in one fluid thrust. "I think you just discovered new territory."

"Can you plant your feet on the bed?" I panted.

"I'll try," she said. I knew she could do it. Sookie and Amelia had gotten really into yoga, so she'd become really flexible and quite strong. As she planted her feet, her hips came up a bit more, and I slid deeper. "Jesus fuck!"

"Think you can stay in this one?" I asked.

"God I hope so," she moaned, and then moaned louder when I began to move.

I kept one hand on her hips and used the other to alternate between pinching her nipples and rubbing her clit. There wasn't a lot of movement she could do, so I was doing most of the thrusting, but my god was it ever worth it. I had the best view of where we were joined, which was one of the most erotic things I'd ever seen, and her eyes kept roaming over my body, taking in all the flexing and hard muscle.

She kept clenching her muscles around me, making me go faster, and just as I felt her legs begin to shake from holding the position she was announcing that she was about to come. My hand went between us again, and as I thrust deeply twice more she came with a low groan, which, as I had come to figure out, meant that her orgasms were better. Her legs gave out on her after that, so I held her up and thrust hard and fast a few more times until I was groaning out my own release. We collapsed on the bed, and I quickly rolled off of her so she could breathe.

It took ten minutes to get our breathing regular again, and when it was we both looked at each other and started laughing.

"You are a Sex God, Eric," she giggled, still feeling a high.

"If I'm a God, then you're a Goddess," I smiled. "I doubt there's anyone, anywhere in the universe quite like you."

She giggled again, and rolled towards me. Her hand traveled up and down my torso, and she leaned forward to kiss me. It was a perfect moment, and I had the sudden urge to ask her my question.

"I have something to ask you," I said against her lips.

"Oh?"

"Will you move in with me?"

"What?"

I sat up and tried to explain.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I just decided last week to ask you. We've just got one year of college left, and I would like to think that we would have moved in together after we graduate, but I want you here now, and I want us to be used to it now before we have the added stress of new jobs and real life, and Tray's going to ask Amelia to marry him, so surely her father wouldn't object to them living together if they're engaged, and…"

Sookie slapped her hand over my mouth to get me to shut up.

"I'm going to pretend that you never said what you just did about Tray and Amelia, because I won't be able to keep that to myself," she said, and then she smiled. "But my answer is yes."

Since her hand was still over my mouth, I raised my eyebrows as if to ask if she really meant it. She laughed and dropped her hand.

"Yes, I mean it. I want to live with you."

I rolled myself on top of her again as I kissed her.

"You have no idea how happy you just made me," I said.

"I can feel that," she smirked. "But after that last round I'm more than a little hungry. Let's go get some lunch and meet up with Amelia and Tray."

"I'd rather eat you," I whispered in her ear.

"You can have me for dessert later," she said as she pushed me off of her and got out of bed.

"Is that a promise?" I asked.

"That's a guarantee," she said.


	33. Cute Little Elvis Costello Glasses

**A/N:**

Hey folks! This is the final chapter of Studybuddies. I thought it would be best to tell you now rather than at the end. I've had so much fun writing this story, and I had planned on dragging it out a bit more, but I realized, with the help of a good buddy, that dragging it out was probably what was stalling me so much. She suggested doing a correspondence chapter, and it ended up flowing right out of me. I know it's not traditional, but by doing it this way I was able to wrap everything up and get them where I wanted them at the end. I'll never rule out writing one-shots for this story so this may not be the last we'll see of them.

Thank you to everyone who's stuck with me through this story. I appreciate it so much! A big thanks to Zigster, who helped me figure out how to do this, and beta'd the chapter for me.

FYI: This chapter is jumping forward in time again to when Eric and Sookie are moving to their new home after college.

* * *

**Text Message Conversation Between Eric Northman and Sookie Stackhouse**

**August**

**10:27 AM**

Christ it's hot.

-Eric, it's the South.

Yeah, but I didn't realize it'd be this hot.

-It was hot back home too.

But we're inland now, so it sucks more.

-This is a silly conversation.

I'm bored. Will you pick me up some skittles?

-You want skittles because you're bored?

The movers are taking forever. I'm craving skittles.

-Is skittles another one of your code words? Am I actually supposed to come back sans panties?

That's a wonderful idea, but I'm really just craving skittles.

-Fine I'll get you some skittles. Original, tropical, or sour?

Original. Please and thank you.

-Do you want a big bag or a small one?

If you get a big one I'll share with you.

-You wouldn't share from the small one?

Have you seen how many they put in those tiny bags?

-Point. I'll get the big one.

**11:15 AM**

Where are you now?

-At the hardware store getting screws for the shelves.

I'm hungry.

-There's food in the kitchen.

But none of the kitchen stuff is here.

-Eat a package of pop tarts.

Ew.

-Are you trying to frustrate me?

No.

-Do you want me to bring you some fast food before finishing the shopping?

Yes.

-Arby's?

Yes, please. I love you.

-I'll go there after I get out of here.

Thank you.

.

.

.

**E-mail Correspondence Between Sookie Stackhouse and Amelia Dawson**

**December**

_To: Amelia Dawson_

_From: Sookie Stackhouse_

_Subject: I'd rather call_

I can't believe Tray and Eric think we talk too much on the phone. I haven't e-mailed you since we were in grade school. It is interesting to see your name as Amelia Dawson now, though. Six months married! Are you two still going at it like newlyweds?

Before you ask, no, Eric hasn't asked me to marry him yet. I don't think it will happen for a while. I don't really feel a desire to be a wife, and I don't think he has the desire to be a husband. We just…are. It's nice.

Anyway, Eric's yelling that supper is done. I better go before he decides that I spend too much time talking to you through e-mail. Love you sweetie!

XOXO

Sookie

.

_To: Sookie Stackhouse_

_From: Amelia Dawson_

Subject: RE: I'd rather call

I think the final straw for Tray was when you called just before we were going to have sex, and then we talked for three hours. He threw a fit, and swore he got blue balls from being so worked up. I swear they're more dramatic than us. We can't help that jobs put us on opposite sides of the country.

We're still happy as can be. Tray loves his coaching job, and I love Tray. Daddy thinks it's ridiculous that I'm not using my degree still, but Tray wants me to stay home, and I'm enjoying being lazy. He hasn't said anything yet, but I keep getting the feeling that Tray wants us to get pregnant.

How's Savannah? Are you guys completely settled into the new house yet? I saw the pictures you posted on Facebook. The one of you and Eric kissing in the doorway makes me want to puke. You guys are too freaking cute. I can't wait to come spend some time with you.

Whoops, Tray just got home. He sounds frustrated. He likes a good blowjob when he's frustrated. TTYL!

-Meals

.

_To: Amelia Dawson_

_From: Sookie Stackhouse_

_Subject: EW_

Amelia, it was bad enough hearing you say things like that over the phone, reading that you're ending an e-mail to go blow your husband is worse somehow. I'm really happy you two are still all sexed up all the time, but I'd prefer not to know when and what acts, okay?

I'm really loving Savannah. There's a lot of history here, and I love my job. Our house is so old, but in such good shape. Eric's taking a lot of inspiration from it and really coming along with his original stuff. He's really enjoying writing articles and reviews for a local newspaper. It gets him out of the house when he has to write about a specific place he's never been.

We'd love to have you and Tray come out anytime! Just give us some warning so we have time to get one of the spare bedrooms set up. Right now they're serving as storage for boxes we haven't gone through yet.

You really need to talk to Tray about getting pregnant. I know you've told me you're not ready yet, but you can't just assume he wants it right now. You know how I feel about it though. You two will make fantastic parents whenever you decide to have kids. Eric and I have finally decided that we want three when we start having them, which won't be for a long while so don't start freaking out.

Call me if you want to talk about the getting pregnant stuff, okay? Eric and Tray can just deal with it.

XOXO

Sookie

.

_To: Sookie Stackhouse_

_From: Amelia Dawson_

_Subject: Shut it_

I don't understand why it's so bad for you to know that I'm going to give my husband a blowjob. You listened to us have sex for years. I wouldn't mind knowing that you're off giving head to Eric.

I'm glad you guys are happy, but it still makes me want to puke. Tray and I aren't like that, are we? So disgusting.

I talked to him about the pregnancy stuff, and he admitted that he'd like to start having kids. I want a bit more time to think about it, but I'm kind of warming up to the idea. Not just because I'm home all the time and it would give me something to do. That's not it at all. I started having dreams about us as a family. Picturing Tray holding a little baby just about melts my heart, and the idea that it's our baby he's holding makes me a puddle. I think that maternal clock thing is happening. I think we may start trying soon. We'll see, I guess.

You and Eric totally need to have like ten kids. They'll all be smart and gorgeous, and they'll have those little Elvis Costello glasses. Oh! You can dress the boys up in those little suits with the skinny ties. AHHH! So adorable!

Okay, now I'm bummed. You and Eric need to get married and have kids so we can be pregnant at the same time. And then my little girl can marry your little boy and we'll all have the best in-laws ever.

Make it happen.

-Meals

.

_To: Amelia Dawson_

_From: Sookie Stackhouse_

_Subject: No. Just no._

Stop. Just stop now before you get your hopes up. I am not going to try and get Eric to marry and impregnate me just so that you and I have kids at the same time. We're not ready for that.

At least I don't think we are. Maybe I should talk to him about it.

No! Dammit, Amelia! This is why we need to talk over the phone. I wouldn't be over thinking this if I heard it rather than read it. Now you have me imagining Eric in his adorable glasses holding a tiny newborn in his arms, and my ovaries are now aching.

Thanks a lot.

-Sookie

P.S. Yes, you and Tray are that disgusting.

.

.

.

**Text Message Conversation Between Tray Dawson and Eric Northman**

**February**

**2:23 PM**

Amelia's pregnant!

-Congrats, man!

Thanks. I'm excited. You asked Sookie to marry you yet?

-No, and it wasn't an issue until Amelia put the idea of us having kids in her head.

You said you two were already talking about kids.

-Yeah, in 5-7 years.

So what's the problem with getting married?

-There's not a problem. I just want to do it because I know we're ready, not because she wants me to so we can have kids.

Oh. Is she bugging you about it?

-She's not like that. Ever since she and Amelia started e-mailing she's been bringing up marriage a lot.

I still don't see an issue. You want to marry her, so marry her.

-But I don't want her to think I'm asking just because she wants me to.

Dude. Chicks aren't that complicated with marriage. Don't even plan something. Just ask her.

-But I already have a ring. I've had it for two years.

Then put the phone down, pick up the ring, and go ask her to be your wife.

-That easy, huh?

Just do it.

.

.

.

**Text Message Conversation Between Eric Northman and Sookie Stackhouse**

**July**

**5:40 PM**

Wife, when will you be home?

-Soon, and stop calling me Wife. It's weird.

But I like calling you Wife. That's what you are. My wife.

-I thought the woman was the one that gets all mushy over marriage.

I'm not being mushy.

-Of course not, sweetie.

What are you wearing?

-You saw me when I left the house.

Dammit, play along.

-The blue lace ones with the black bow.

Take them off.

-Well what do you know, it's time to go home and my panties are in my purse.

Will you touch yourself while you're driving home?

-That's kind of dangerous.

Then will you let me text you dirty things while you're driving home?

-I'll read them at stoplights.

When you get home I'm going to be naked and ready for you. I'm going to rip your clothes off like you love.

-Jesus.

Should we be hard and fast, or slow and teasing? I think you want to be teased. I found the handcuffs today.

-OMG

I think I'll do that. Rip your clothes off when you get here, and then slow it down. Cuff you to the bed and tease you until you explode.

-Hold the fuck on, I'm almost home.


	34. Note

Hey everyone! I'm just here to let you know that I've started posting NerdStud's journal. It's going back to the beginning of this story and it will include entries from his journal through the events of Studybuddies. Just a fun thing, chapters will be short and sweet, and I'll just add to it when I need some stress relief writing. Check it out if you're interested!

URL: http:/www(DOT)fanfiction(DOT)net/s/6425881/1/


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